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The Planning Process All wind farm developments have to apply for planning permission.
Planning decisions are open to public influence, and although it's more common for opponents of a plan to make their voice heard, planners should equally respond to supporters of a scheme. As wind plans have failed due to controversy, it's important that your support for a wind farm is demonstrated, and that you don't leave it to the opposition to influence the planners.
Who makes the planning decisions? In most areas of Britain
local government has two layers: county councils and district or borough
councils, with the district/borough council making planning decisions.
Most district councils are then divided into parish or town councils.
These bodies don't have any direct influence on planning decisions
but may be consulted during the process. In Scotland, Wales and some
metropolitan areas of England a single-tier system exists, sometimes
called unitary authorities. Northern Ireland has a different system
again with the Northern Ireland Assembly administering planning decisions
through 6 divisional offices.
Applications are made to a council's planning office and dealt with
by a planning officer. The planning officer will consider an application
and make a recommendation to a planning committee with whom the final
decision rests. A planning committee is made up to 30 local councillors.
When to act This information should be available locally. Applications for major
developments have to be advertised in the local paper. The council is
also required to place posters around the site and sometimes to notify
neighbouring residents.
This website will also show up coming developments. By using this site's
wind farm proposals map you can know about
a plan sometimes in advance of an application for planning permission
being made. This could allow you an opportunity to drum up support in
your area, perhaps by forming a local
group or organising some street campaigns.
Lobbying the planning officer The simplest was of making your opinion known is to write to the planning
officer. He or she must read all letters and note them in their report
to the committee. Letters should be short, no longer than one side of
A4.
Before you write your letter it might be helpful to speak to the planning
officer, either in person or over the telephone. They should be able
to give you more information, particularly about any objections that
have been made to the scheme. This will help you make your letter more
relevant and directly address objections that have been made.
What to cover in your letter of support It should also be easy to counter other objections. For bigger
projects, the wind developer will have to have produced an independent
Environmental Impact Assessment Report or Environmental Statement
for the plan. This should tackle specific criticisms of the plan
such as noise, disruption and tourism. You can also use our FAQ
section to rebut more generic criticisms of wind power.
Lobbying councillors There are various ways of meeting with councillors:
When you meet with councillors think about the following:
Although your own councillor may not sit on the planning committee,
it still might be worth talking to them as they may be willing to take
your views to others in the council.
Contacting consultees The planning officer will tell you who has been consulted and what
their comments were. This might be helpful to you either to build allies
or to find out what criticisms are being levelled at the scheme. Some
conservation organisations are generally negative towards wind developments
because of landscape issues. If you find that these sorts of comments
have been made, make sure you counter them in your letters to planners.
Lobbying Members of Parliament / Welsh Assembly
/ Northern Ireland Assembly/ Scottish Parliament
The Planning Meeting Some councils allow members of the public to speak at planning meetings.
Again this is something you can find out from the local planning office.
If you do wish to speak, make sure you plan what you're going to say
in advance. The planner's report should be made available to the public
a few days before the meeting. You might find it useful to read the
planner's recommendations when you're thinking about you own comments
to the committee.
Possible outcomes of the planning meeting If planning permission is denied, hopefully it won't mean the end of
the wind farm plan. The developers may be able to make some alterations
to the design which would make it acceptable to the local council. If
this isn't possible, it's highly likely that they'll appeal the decision.
About 1 in 3 appeals end in planning permission being granted.
Appeals It is the developer's choice as to which form of appeal they wish to
make, although if asking for a written representation the planning inspectorate
can insist on a public inquiry.
If you wrote to the planning department on the original application
you will be contacted if the decision has been appealed to ask if you
wish to comment. If a public inquiry is to take place you will be notified
of a time and date.
When commenting on an appeal, you should try to find out why permission
was refused. If you haven't done so have a look at the planner's original
report and the council's decision notice - these will tell you why permission
was refused and therefore what the basis of the appeal will be. One
of the most likely reasons for refusal of a wind farm is visual impact.
As a local resident this is an argument that you can easily counter,
so your contribution to an appeal will be valuable.
If the appeal is to take the form of a written representation or informal
hearing you need to submit a statement to the planning inspector. If
you wish to attend the informal hearing, state this in your letter.
Find out from the relevant planning authority when the deadline for
comment is and stick to this. As much as possible a written statement
should follow the following structure:
Public Inquiries Before the appeal, the council and the wind developer have to submit
pre-inquiry statements. Copies of these are available from the planning
department and may be worth looking at to help you form your own comments.
In theory the planning inspector doesn't have to let members of the
public speak at the inquiry although in practice they usually do. You
may also make comments to the inquiry in writing in exactly the same
way as the sorts of appeals previously discussed. You are also entitled
to attend the inquiry as an observer without making any comment.
With a little preparation speaking at the meeting may be the most powerful
way to make your case. If you've been working with others in supporting
the wind farm coordinate on who is going to speak and what each of you
is going to say. The developers themselves might also appreciate that
you consult with them to ensure that your statement compliments their
case.
Before you go to the inquiry make sure you have the points you want
to make written down and make copies of any documents that you're using
to support your case. At the inquiry the inspector will ask if anyone
wishes to speak. If you can't attend the whole inquiry you should let
the inspector know at this point so that a suitable time slot can be
allotted for you to make your comments.
As well as making a statement to the inquiry, the inspector may also
give the opportunity for members of the public to put questions to witnesses.
It's good to use this opportunity to put awkward questions to objectors,
but again the key to asking good questions is preparation. Make sure
your questions are concise and related to planning issues. Also be prepared
to summarise your point in case the inspector queries where your line
of questioning is going.
When it comes to making your statement do so clearly and concisely.
The inspector will have a copy of your letter of support, so there's
no need to go over the same points in any detail. Just say that you
continue to support the wind farm and perhaps make three or four clear
reasons why. Try to refer these to objectors' criticisms. As objectors
and appellants often use lawyers at inquiries, be prepared to be cross-examined,
although the inspector will intervene if questions are seen to be unfair.
Try to stay calm and don't feel under pressure to answer questions which
you feel you don't know the answer to.
Inquiry Decisions A decision letter will either allow or dismiss an appeal, which amounts
to the same as granting or refusing planning permission. If the appeal
is dismissed it may be that the inspector indicates ways in which the
plan could change in order to get it allowed.
'Call-Ins' If a call in is made, the plan will go to public inquiry, so you should
follow the same tactics as if an appeal had been made.
National and Devolved Government Decisions Any offshore plan or onshore plan over 50 megawatts is dealt with via central or devolved government. In the case of onshore plans, developers must apply for consents through Section 36 of the Electricity Act. The Scottish Executive or in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry will then deal with the application.
Offshore plans may be decided under the Electricity Act, as above, or developers (in England, Wales or Northern Ireland only) may choose to apply for consent through the Transport and Works Act. The decision then lies with the Secretary of State for Transport in England, the Welsh Assembly or the Northern Ireland Executive. The wind developer should be able to tell you which of these paths they have decided to take and therefore who you should write to voice your support.
Who to write to In England, Wales and Northern Ireland In Scotland For offshore plans applying for consent through the Transport and Works Act you should write to: You should also send a copy of your letter to your MP. What to write Bibliography Responding to Planning Applications: A CPRE Guide
Departure Applications and call-ins: A CPRE Campaign Briefing
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