ANOTHER major wind turbine scheme for the Teesdale area has been rejected but D-Day looms for the biggest proposal yet.
Plans to put two 46m turbines at Crake Scarr Farm, near Hamsterley Forest, have been thrown out by Durham County Council. It follows a refusal of plans for a 78m turbine between Boldron and Bowes.
The latest decision was made on the grounds that the scheme would harm the countryside.
A report by planners said: “The renewable energy benefits of this proposal are conclusively outweighed by the harm that would result in terms of negative visual impact, potential impact on heritage assets, potential impact on residential amenity in terms of noise, potential adverse impacts on nature conservation and ecology of the area and potential subsidence of the land.”
There were also fears that the scheme would lead to a cumulative impact, especially as five 115m turbines are planned for a field nearby.
Planning agent Earthmill Ltd, of Wetherby, had said the proposal would help Crake Scarr Farm mitigate the impact of climate change.
There were 21 objection letters from residents, including protests from Hamsterley and Upper Gaunless Action Group, which is also fighting the larger scheme for Hamsterley which is expected to be decided in September (see story below).
Woodland and Hamsterley parish councils objected, along with Natural England, which was worried about the affect on wildlife.
The Coal Authority had concerns about the possibility of there being old mines on the site.
Durham and Tees Valley Airport protested on the grounds of the turbines affecting radar.
Durham County Council’s landscape team objected because of the proposed colour, size and number of proposed turbines.
“There is a fundamental problem with the turbines proposed in that they are only available in white, which is not a colour that minimises visibility, but rather maximises it,” the council said.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England, The Open Spaces Society, Ramblers Association and British Horse Society had also urged the council to refuse the scheme.
However, six letters of support were sent to the council from people who said the farm was “doing its bit” for the environment and the turbines would not be near any properties.
A petition was submitted in support of the application and signed by 28 people.
Wind turbines in County Durham are generating 167.88MW of renewable electricity operational with a further 30.47MW from sites with approval but waiting to be built.
Durham County Council says this will meet around 72 per cent of County Durham’s household electricity consumption or 27 per cent of the County’s overall electricity.
The authority says County Durham’s 2010 renewable energy target has been exceeded by a “substantial margin and the aspiration to double that target by 2020 has already been achieved”.
Protestors urge ‘final push’
A GROUP fighting plans to erect five 115m turbines near Hamsterley Forest are calling for one last effort from anti-wind farm campaigners.
Banks Renewables’ plans for the site, between the village of Woodland and Hamsterley Forest, were delayed after Durham County Council called for more wildlife surveys.
These have now been completed and councillors are expected to decide the matter in September. Hamsterley and Upper Gaunless Action Group (Hugag) says the new surveys, which give extra information on bats and birds, only confirm the importance of the site for wildlife.
Campaigners are being asked to write to the council to show their opposition.
Peter Shield, spokesman for Hugag, said: “More importantly, perhaps, this is the moment to talk to neighbours and others who may share your views but who may not yet have joined the campaign to oppose this planning application. We need as many supporters as possible because our determination to keep these industrial-scale turbines out of Teesdale remains rock-solid.”
A spokesman from Banks said: “As well as producing significant amounts of renewable energy, our scheme would also bring a wide range of other long-term benefits to the area, from new jobs and contract opportunities for local firms, to a community benefits fund worth £25,000 every year.
“It would be located within an area that has been independently identified as being suitable for wind development.”