High Court overturns unsound wind farm refusal

A decision to refuse planning permission for a Denbighshire wind farm has been overturned by a High Court judge. The local authority's refusal of permission for a development at Gorsedd Bran, Nantglyn, was quashed by Mr Justice Wyn Williams and sent back for reconsideration.

Permission had been refused for several reasons, including noise levels. However, the High Court ruled the decision-making process was flawed. Permission was refused originally in November 2008. The applicants, Tegni Cymru Tif, appealed that decision, but it was again refused.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams said the inspector who investigated the noise impact of the site during the appeal did not give sufficient reasons for concluding sound levels generated would be unacceptable.

Delivering his ruling, the judge said: "The primary ground of challenge is that the inspector reached conclusions about the visual impact of the wind farm and the noise associated with its operation which no reasonable Inspector would have reached.

"Additionally, however, the claimant alleges that the inspector's decision should be quashed because he failed to give sufficient reasons for his conclusions upon important issues."

The judge concluded "the inspector erred in law in at least one important respect".

He added: "In my judgment, he failed to provide adequate reasons for his conclusion that the noise impact of the proposed development was unacceptable; his reasoning gives rise to a substantial doubt, at the very least, as to whether he erred in law when reaching his conclusion upon the issue of noise impact."

The plans proposed by Tegni Cymru Tif are for a 13-turbine wind farm that would power nearly 24,000 households.