What if a big energy development is proposed near you?

There are likely to be an increasing number of wind farm propsals. Photo: Stock.xchng

With the Government's current drive for an expansion of renewables, the most likely kind of energy project to be proposed in the countryside is a wind farm — a collection of large wind turbines. In January 2006, there were 49 wind farms in England and 1,200 onshore wind turbines across the UK. However, the checklist below applies to any kind of significant energy development onshore.

You and others concerned about the proposal need answers to all the questions below. The answers will help you decide whether to campaign for a refusal of planning permission, whether the development is acceptable and should be supported, or whether to put pressure on the planning authority and the developer to improve the scheme — by way of changes to it and getting conditions attached to planning approval.

Really big energy developments (ones generating over 50 megawatts of power, which include the largest wind farms) do not go through the planning system. They are reviewed – and receive approval or refusal – by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). But the following questions are still relevant if you wish to assess and influence such a proposed development. Your local planning authority will be consulted by the DTI so you will need to put your views to both the authority and the Department.

Publications
Use the links on the right to download a PDF.
Renewable Energy – a CPRE campaign briefing
How to Respond to Planning Applications gives more detail on how to respond to development proposals.

Printed copies can be obtained from CPRE Publications, email: publications@cpre.org.uk

Assessing the impact of an energy proposal – key questions

1. What is the proposed scale of the scheme?
Generally speaking, the bigger it is, the bigger its impact on the landscape and the wider environment.

2. Will the scheme enhance or damage the character of the countryside, including any designated sites such as National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty?

There will be a stronger likelihood of the scheme being rejected if it alters the character of a designated landscape. But protecting the landscapes of the ordinary English countryside also matters a great deal.

Many find it hard to see how a large energy development of any kind could not damage a rural landscape. The planning authority, or a planning inspector, may judge the damage to be minor, or acceptable, given the benefits of the development.

One important way of assessing the impacts of major developments such as wind farms on a landscape is for the local authority or developer – or any other party – to carry out a Landscape Character Assessment. You can find out more about this in our publication Campaigning for Countryside Character. You could also visit the Natural England website to find out about their work on landscape character.

3. What environmental benefits (for example, carbon dioxide emissions avoided) are to be expected if the scheme proceeds? Are these benefits worth the damage the scheme does to landscapes and the wider environment?

4. What measure will be necessary to mitigate the scheme’s negative effects, and could these resolve your objections? Could its scale be reduced? Think about associated building works, too – such as new access tracks and new electricity poles and cables.

5. Is this the best location for the development and do alternative suitable locations exist?

6. What effect will the development have on traffic levels to and from the site?

7. Has an Environmental Impact Assessment been conducted? Is this adequate?
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process for systematically examining the possible environmental effects of a new development. A European Directive (97/11/EC) sets out which developments should benefit from EIA. For some major projects, an EIA is automatic, while for others (including wind farms) it is only required if there are likely to be significant environmental effects. The EIA process provides a real opportunity to highlight potential environmental damage, to improve the design of developments, and to enable members of the public to have a proper say before decisions are made on whether a project should be given planning permission. Our Environmental Impact Assessment guide tells you more about the process and how it can help.

8. What are the likely offsite effects of the development (for example, transmission networks such as overhead power lines)?

9. Are there plans for decommissioning the plant and restoring the site when it is no longer required? Are these adequate?

Publications
Use the links on the right to download a PDF.
Campaigning for Countryside Character
Environmental Impact Assessment