Some wind farm developers have under-assessed the impact of wind farm noise and appearance on residents living nearby, according to ground-breaking research just published.
The two-year study looked at how the visual, shadow flicker and noise impacts predicted by developers at the planning stage of 10 wind farms across Scotland compared with what was experienced once the projects were operational.
In some cases what was set out in planning applications did not match the actual impact, the research by climate change body ClimateXChange concluded.
The test sites included wind farms at Dalswinton in Dumfries and Galloway, Achany in the Highlands, Drone Hill in the Borders, Hadyard Hill in South Ayrshire, Little Raith in Fife and West Knock Farm in Aberdeenshire.
The majority of assessments presented at planning stage for the 10 case study wind farms identified and mainly followed extant guidelines.
However, for some of the case study wind farms, extant guidelines were not consistently followed and/or the impacts predicted in the documentation submitted with developers’ planning applications were not consistent with the actual impacts, as assessed in the study or as reported by some local residents.
“Assessments and public engagement activities had not always adequately prepared residents for the impacts of the operational wind farm in terms of visual, shadow flicker or noise impacts”, concluded the research.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We welcome the publication of the wind farm impacts study report which is the first of its kind in the world and presents the findings of a two-year study involving a wide-range of interest groups.
“The report shows improvements have already been made in our planning system, which is rigorous and ensures appropriate siting of wind farms, and studies like this will make sure this improvement continues, and we look forward to considering the recommendations carefully.”
View more information on the study
Roger Milne
The legislation which makes major changes to the Welsh planning system including a new requirement to consider the implications for the Welsh language obtained Royal Assent this week.
The Planning (Wales) Act 2015 introduces a new legal framework for Welsh ministers to prepare a national land use plan, to be known as the National Development Framework for Wales. This framework will set out national land use priorities and infrastructure requirements.
The Act also makes provision for the production of so-called Strategic Development Plans to tackle larger-than-local cross-boundary issues, such as housing supply and areas for economic growth and regeneration. These will focus on three areas: Cardiff, Swansea and the A55 corridor.
In addition, the Act emphasises the need for pre-application consultation and requires local planning authorities to provide pre-application services.
The new measures also mean that planning applications for nationally-significant projects will be made to Welsh ministers. Applicants for planning permission will also be able to apply to the Welsh ministers for planning permission where a local planning authority is deemed to be poorly performing.
Planning minister Carl Sargeant insisted: “The new law will create a world-class planning system delivering timely, fair and consistent decisions that will enhance the built, natural and historic environment in Wales. It will also complement the framework for sustainable development established through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the environment bill.”
View the Planning (Wales) Act 2015
Roger Milne
Large tracts of agricultural land have been lost as part of large-scale changes to the environment this century, researchers have found.
Some 225,200 hectares of land – the equivalent of one per cent of the total area of the UK – showed a change in land cover or use from 2006 to 2012, including a net loss of more than 7,000 hectares of agricultural land.
While nearly 2,000 hectares reverted back to pasture after being used for mineral extraction projects, another 5,000 hectares of farmland was given over for mineral extraction and at least another 4,000 hectares was lost to construction sites.
Researchers at Leicester University and consultancy company Specto Natura studied satellite images to identify the changes which have now been published in map form. Their work contributes to the EU-wide Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) land cover mapping project. They found that semi-natural and wetland habitats were in decline nationally.
According to their analysis urban expansion has led to the loss of more than 7,000 hectares of forest, with over 1,000 hectares of wetlands given over to artificial surfaces like concrete and tarmac.
The biggest change was the clearing of coniferous forest – over 100,000 hectares – with nearly 3,000 hectares cleared for industrial development, although almost half of the total area of conifers cut down was being replanted.
Study leader professor Heiko Balzter, director of the Centre for Landscape and Climate Research at Leicester University, said the data would be useful for informing policy.
He added: “At the scale of change mapping of five hectares or larger, there appears to be a loss of semi-natural habitats and agricultural land. The apparent decline in wetlands is particularly concerning.”
Roger Milne
Forth Bridge awarded Heritage Site status
Scotland’s iconic Forth Bridge has become the sixth Scottish landmark to be awarded Unesco World Heritage Site status.
The decision was announced at a meeting in the German city of Bonn after the UN’s cultural committee spent more than a year considering its nomination.
The committee described the construction as “innovative in style, materials and scale” and an important milestone in bridge design.
The distinctive red bridge has carried trains over the Forth since 1890. Scotland’s other World Heritage Sites are New Lanark, St Kilda, the Old and New Towns in Edinburgh, Neolithic Orkney and the Antonine Wall.
CPRE makes case for rural exemption to safeguard affordable housing
The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has urged ministers to treat rural areas as a special case in order to protect and provide affordable housing, particularly in the light of the latest proposals to extend the Right to Buy regime.
CPRE has just published a paper which warns that this is likely to have highly damaging consequences for rural communities faced with disproportionately high house prices and ageing populations, unless rural exemptions can be secured.
The paper argues that local authorities in rural areas should be allowed to set their own thresholds for affordable housing.
The paper also argues that a standard and more inclusive definition of ‘rural community’ should underpin new initiatives to boost affordable housing. It recommends a standard definition identifying communities of fewer than 10,000 in rural local authorities
Luke Burroughs, policy and research adviser at CPRE said: “rural areas must be considered a special case – starting with an exemption from the proposed extension to Right to Buy. The last thing we can afford to do is eat into our meagre supply of affordable homes.”
Cheshire East may need to resubmit amended local plan
The planning inspector who been examining Cheshire East Council’s draft local plan has warned the planning authority it may have to withdraw the strategy and resubmit it, if work on amendments to overall housing and employment land provision result in significant changes to the original plan.
He has told the local authority: “Consultation on a significantly amended overall housing and employment land provision figure, along with a set of new or amended sites, may constitute the type of substantial amendment which might suggest that the submitted plan should be withdrawn and resubmitted when all necessary community engagement and public consultation has been completed.”
Last November the inspector halted examination of the plan after concluding it had not dealt adequately with either housing assessment and provision or green belt issues.
Castleford stadium scheme makes waves
Proposals for a new 10,000 capacity Castleford Tigers stadium are closer to climbing off the drawing board now Communities Secretary Greg Clark has signalled he will not be “calling in” the plan which also includes a 50-acre country park, shops and restaurants proposed by developer the Lateral Property Group for land near Junction 32 of the M62 at Glasshoughton.
The £135m scheme for the new rugby league stadium and other elements had been approved by Wakefield Council earlier this year. The project is known as the Five Towns Park.
Help for small builders
Small builders are set to benefit from a £100m cash boost thanks to an initiative known as the Housing Growth Partnership, launched this week.
Under this scheme small firms will receive financial support. The partnership will also establish a network of builders, including experienced developers, who will act as mentors and advisers to those looking to expand and grow their businesses.
The government has matched a £50m investment from Lloyds Banking Group to create the £100m Housing Growth Partnership, which will be used to help smaller builders invest in new projects and develop their businesses, allowing them to recruit and train skilled workers and become more competitive in their local area.
Energy projects round-up
- The National Trust has announced it will invest a record-breaking £30m, in renewable energy to heat and power more of its historic sites. The move follows the successful completion of five renewable energy projects at National Trust properties, part of a £3.5m pilot launched with Good Energy in 2013. The National Trust is investing in more than 40 further projects including a 200-kilowatt lake source heating project at Blickling Estate in Norfolk, two biomass boilers at Upton House in Warwickshire and a 250-kilowatt hydro scheme at Hayeswater in Cumbria.
- Communities Secretary Greg Clark has called in controversial proposals for a 24-megawatt solar farm on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) at Rampisham Down approved by West Dorset District Council. Clark’s predecessor had considered intervening over the project earlier this year.
- Meanwhile in a separate development a planning inspector has allowed an appeal against a council’s refusal of a 8.21-megawatt solar farm in East Sussex after he concluded that the benefits of the scheme, including the production of renewable energy, would ‘outweigh any harmful impacts’ on the character and appearance of the area.
Environment Agency response time performance
The Environment Agency (EA) responded to some 30,251 requests from local planning authorities and developers over planning application consultations and pre-application requests under the so-called 21-day duty regime during 2013/14.
The average (mean) number of days to provide a substantive response to all consultation requests was 16 days. This was an improvement on 2012/13 when the EA’s average (mean) response time was 17 days.
The Agency responded to 92 per cent of planning application consultations and pre-application enquiries within 21 days or such other period agreed in writing; 93 per cent for planning application consultations and 88 per cent for pre-application enquiries. This is lower than in 2012-13 when the green watchdog achieved 95 per cent.
The EA responded to 84.7 per cent of all planning application consultations and pre-application enquiries within 21 days.
London round-up
- North east England-based social enterprise Gentoo Genie has signed a deal with the Greater London Authority to secure up to £40m of loan finance to deliver 2,000 affordable new homes over the next 10 years. Gentoo is now seeking a London developer to partner with in order to deliver these planned new homes; they would like to acquire new build properties or development land. This follows a successful pilot scheme in the north east of England where 94 families moved into their own homes.
- London property owners The Crown Estate, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Shaftesbury, the Howard de Walden Estate and The Portland Estate have jointly formed a unique collaboration to promote green infrastructure in the capital, through an ecology project entitled ‘Wild West End’. The first phase of Wild West End will see The Crown Estate create a green corridor across its holdings in Regent Street and St James’s, linking Regent’s Park and St James’s Park. The plans will see the creation of over a hectare of new green space. A master plan is being drawn up to expand the scheme.
- Amber Valley Borough Council has refused permission for a 400-home development on the edge of the Derby suburb of Allestree because of the harm posed to the setting of the nearby Grade 1 listed Kedelston Hall. Developer Catesby Estates is considering an appeal.
Legal round-up
- Tandridge District Council in Surrey has lost a High Court challenge over whether the replacement of a group of buildings by a single building that was not materially larger than those it replaced was capable of falling within an exception in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
- A woman who has fought for years to block plans to redevelop a bowls club in Bexhill into sheltered flats has failed in her latest legal challenge to the granting of planning permission by Rother District Council.
- Up to 1,000 bridleways and footpaths in England and Wales could be reinstated more than 200 years after disappearing from maps. This follows a Court of Appeal ruling that two paths near Crudwell in Wiltshire are legal rights of way.
Tideway Tunnel scoops top award
The £4.2bn Thames Tideway Tunnel (known as the capital’s ‘super sewer’) project, designed to provide essential additional capacity to London’s now antiquated Victorian sewage system, is this year’s winner of the RTPI’s Silver Jubilee Cup, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious planning award.
First purpose-built women’s football stadium mooted in Glasgow
Glasgow City Football Club is exploring plans to build the first purpose-built women’s football stadium in the UK. The sports facility would have a standard pitch and training facilities in Auchinairn, East Dunbartonshire.
It would be used by the Glasgow City Foundation and other community groups. Glasgow City’s Douglas Barnett said: “This will be the first purpose-built women’s football facility in the UK – promoting the sport to new generations of girls and women.”
Roger Milne
As many of you are aware we had another set of site outages on Tuesday and Wednesday.
First and foremost: we are sorry for the inconvenience.
The problem was related to the Planning Portal’s LDAP server, which is the part of the site that deals with log-in and registration. It was also the part of the site causing us issues last month. We thought the issue was resolved but we were advised today that there are a few configuration issues that need to be ironed out.
This configuration work will take place on Thursday (9th July) morning between 04:00 and 07:00 meaning the Portal will be unavailable during this time.
I know this is a frustrating time for customers, it is for us, too. We look forward to delivering the new Planning Portal this Autumn.
As some of you will know, the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) became a local planning authority on 1 July 2015. The EDC, established in April 2015, has the role of coordinating investment and driving forward development of a new garden city at Ebbsfleet, building up to 15,000 new homes. Read more…
I mentioned back in May that one our first priorities as a new business was to move our website safely to a new IT platform. Well, I’m pleased to say that the site build is going well and we’re on track for delivery in the autumn. Read more…
A new north-west runway at Heathrow is the independent Airports Commission’s recommendation as the most credible option for expanding aviation capacity in the UK.
The Commission’s final report, published on Wednesday, concluded that the Heathrow scheme, combined with a significant package of measures to address its environmental and community impacts, presented the strongest case and offered the greatest strategic and economic benefits. These included providing around 40 new destinations from the airport and more than 70,000 new jobs by 2050.
The report said that the Heathrow extended northern runway delivered similar economic benefits, was less costly and required the loss of fewer homes. But it provided a smaller increase in capacity and was less attractive from a noise and air quality perspective.
The Gatwick scheme was feasible, the report said. But the additional capacity would be more focused on short-haul intra-European routes and the economic benefits were considerably smaller.
The Commission stressed that its recommendation was a fundamentally different proposition from previous proposals to expand at Heathrow. It delivered a full-length runway, maximising the connectivity gain. It was situated further west than the current runways, which would help reduce the number of people affected by noise. And it was accompanied by strong proposals to limit the impacts on those living nearby.
These included a recommended ban on all scheduled night flights in the period from 11.30pm to 6.00am and a proposal that the government should make a firm commitment in Parliament not to expand the airport further.
The Commission was adamant that there was no sound operational or environmental case for a fourth runway at Heathrow.
It called for a legally binding ‘noise envelope’ putting firm limits on the level of noise created by the airport buttressed by a new aviation noise levy to fund an expanded programme of mitigation, including noise insulation for homes, schools and other community facilities.
The Commission has also urged a legal commitment on air quality that new capacity will only be released when it is clear that compliance with EU limits will not be delayed.
Prime Minister David Cameron this week promised a government decision on airport expansion by the end of the year amid signs of Cabinet divisions over what the outcome should be.
Commission chairman Sir Howard Davies said: “Over the past two and a half years, we have reviewed the evidence without preconceptions, consulted widely, and followed an inclusive and integrated process.
“At the end of this extensive work programme our conclusions are clear and unanimous: the best answer is to expand Heathrow’s capacity through a new north-west runway.”
Roger Milne
Plans for the world’s largest potash mine have been approved by members of the North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA).
The mine head at Dove’s Nest Farm near Whitby and much of its associated infrastructure will be within the North York Moors, a sensitive and highly protected landscape.
Andy Wilson, Chief Executive of the NYMNPA said: “This decision is the culmination of hard work, of thorough examination and in-depth discussions of the largest planning application this National Park, and indeed any English National Park, has had to consider.
“I appreciate that there will be many disappointed by our decision, but members felt that the long term benefits for the local, regional and national economy were transformational.
This truly exceptional nature plus the measures proposed by the company to mitigate harm and deliver widespread environmental benefits to the Park over a long period of time tipped the balance in favour of approval.”
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has already approved part of the scheme proposed by Sirius Metal. Ryedale District Council and Scarborough Borough Council have supported the project because of its economic benefits.
The officers’ report to the planning committee argued that the proposals did not meet the “exceptional circumstances” required to justify the scheme given the environmental harm it posed. But they did not make a recommendation. Members voted eight to seven in the mine’s favour.
Part of the £1.7bn project is a new harbour which is the subject of a development control order application currently under consideration by the Planning Inspectorate as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NISP).
Roger Milne
Members of Lancashire County Council’s development control committee this week voted unanimously to refuse energy company Cuadrilla’s application to explore for shale gas at a site near Blackpool. The proposals included fracking. The application was refused on the grounds of noise and visual impact.
The committee also refused a separate application for the same site designed to enable Cuadrilla to monitor its operations. This was turned down because of concern over the impact on the landscape.
Members went against the recommendation of officials who said the proposals should be allowed, subject to conditions. The councillors also decided not to follow the advice from a top planning brief, David Manley QC of Kings Chambers.
Manley said: “I have not seen any evidence that could credibly justify a contrary conclusion – on any view, impacts are highly localised, temporary and reversible.”
Councillor Marcus Johnstone, cabinet member for environment, planning and cultural services, said: “This is one of the biggest planning decisions ever put before Lancashire County Council. The development control committee has listened very carefully to many hours of evidence both for and against the proposal, and considered the report of the council’s planning officers.
“Each member of the committee has ultimately cast their vote based on the evidence they have heard and whether they think the proposal is acceptable in planning terms, and to the people they represent.”
Councillors last week refused an application for a separate site at Roseacre Wood. Officers had recommended refusal in that case.
View more information on the Lancashire County Council website
Roger Milne
Planning Portal Blog 