Planning policy statement
Full application for 2 no wind turbines on farmland at Old Barn Farm, Hapton
National Planning Policy
The EU has set Britain a target of 15% renewable energy generation by 2020.
The UK also aims to cut C02 emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050
UK proposes Fourth Carbon Budget (17 May 2011)
DECC Press release: 2011/041
“Britain in 2027 will be a different place and transformed for the better”
(Secretary of State, Chris Huhne)
A limit on the total amount of greenhouse gases to be emitted by the UK between 2023 to 2027 has been proposed to cut Britain’s emissions by 50% from 1990 levels and highlighting the Government’s commitment to being the greenest government ever.
Today's proposal, set out by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, is in line with advice from the independent Committee on Climate Change. It sets a fourth carbon budget of 1950 MtCO2e for the period that will span from 2023 to 2027, putting the UK on course to cut emissions by at least 80% by 2050. The carbon budget will place the British economy at the leading edge of a new global industrial transformation, and ensure low carbon energy security and decarbonisation is achieved at least cost to the consumer.
The package announced today also includes measures to minimise costs of the low-carbon transition to industries exposed to international competition:
•In line with the Coalition Agreement, Government will continue to argue for an EU move to a 30% target for 2020, and ambitious action in the 2020s. We will review progress in EU climate negotiations in early 2014. If at that point our domestic commitments place us on a different emissions trajectory than the EU Emissions Trading System trajectory agreed by the EU, we will, as appropriate, revise up our budget to align it with the actual EU trajectory.
•Before the end of the year we will announce a package of measures to reduce the impact of government policy on the cost of electricity for energy intensive industries and to help them adjust to the low-carbon industrial transformation.
The Prime Minister said:
“When the coalition came together last year, we said we wanted this to be the greenest government ever. This is the right approach for Britain if we are to combat climate change, secure our energy supplies for the long-term and seize the economic opportunities that green industries hold.
“In the past twelve months, we have pursued an ambitious green agenda and today, we are announcing the next, historic step. By making this commitment, we will position the UK a leading player in the global low-carbon economy, creating significant new industries and jobs.
“The transition to a low-carbon economy is necessary, real, and global. By stepping up, showing leadership and competing with the world, the UK can prove that there need not be a tension between green and growth.”
Chris Huhne said:
“Today’s announcement will give investors the certainty they need to invest in clean energy. It puts Britain at the leading edge of a new global industrial transformation as well as making good our determination that this will be the greenest government ever.
“The Coalition Government has set a fourth carbon budget level, in line with the advice from the Committee on Climate Change, which sends a clear signal about our determination to transform Britain permanently into a low carbon economy. By cutting emissions we’re also getting ourselves off the oil hook, making our energy supplies more secure and opening up opportunities for jobs in the new green industries of the future.
“Through the Green Deal, electricity market reform and the Green Investment Bank we’re already putting in place the tools that will help us meet this ambitious carbon budget. This and every future British Government will have to keep up the pace and put in place the most effective policies to tackle climate change.
“Under this carbon budget, Britain in 2027 will be a different place and transformed for the better with warmer homes powered by green energy, many more cars powered by electricity and far less reliance on fossil fuels to drive our economy.”
Under the fourth carbon budget, government will aim to reduce emissions domestically as far as practical and affordable, but also intends to keep open the option of trading in order to retain maximum flexibility and minimise costs in the medium-long term.
Groundbreaking innovation will play a crucial role in helping Britain to decarbonise its energy supplies by 2027 in the most economical way. Today the Energy Technologies Institute is asking industry to design, build and test longer offshore wind turbine blades to improve performance. Currently blades are typically 40-60 metres long, but the next generation of turbines could have blades measuring more than 90 metres
Planning for Growth
Ministerial Statement as a Material Planning Consideration
In his letter of the 31 March, 2011 the Chief Planner to the DCLG refers LPA’s to the content of the Government’s Planning for Growth as mentioned in the recent budget statement. He refers to the written statement of the Minister for Decentralisation (Mr Greg Clark) and adds that “this statement is capable of being regarded as a material planning consideration”.
The Minister states:-
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today issued a call to action on growth, publishing an ambitious set of proposals to help rebuild Britain's economy. The planning system has a key role to play in this, by ensuring that the sustainable development needed to support economic growth is able to proceed as easily as possible…
The Government's top priority in reforming the planning system is to promote sustainable economic growth and jobs. Government's clear expectation is that the answer to development and growth should wherever possible be 'yes', except where this would compromise the key sustainable development principles set out in national planning policy.
The Chancellor has today set out further detail on our commitment to introduce a strong presumption in favour of sustainable development in the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework, which will expect local planning authorities to plan positively for new development; to deal promptly and favourably with applications that comply with up-to-date plans and national planning policies; and wherever possible to approve applications where plans are absent, out of date, silent or indeterminate……
When deciding whether to grant planning permission, local planning authorities should support enterprise and facilitate housing, economic and other forms of sustainable development. Where relevant - and consistent with their statutory obligations - they should therefore:
(i) consider fully the importance of national planning policies aimed at fostering economic growth and employment, given the need to ensure a return to robust growth after the recent recession;
(ii) take into account the need to maintain a flexible and responsive supply of land for key sectors, including housing;
(iii) consider the range of likely economic, environmental and social benefits of proposals; including long term or indirect benefits such as increased consumer choice, more viable
communities and more robust local economies (which may, where relevant, include matters such as job creation and business productivity);
(iv) be sensitive to the fact that local economies are subject to change and so take a positive approach to development where new economic data suggest that prior assessments of needs are no longer up-to-date;
(v) ensure that they do not impose unnecessary burdens on development.
In determining planning applications, local planning authorities are obliged to have regard to all relevant considerations. They should ensure that they give appropriate weight to the need to support economic recovery, that applications that secure sustainable growth are treated favourably (consistent with policy in PPS4), and that they can give clear reasons for their decisions.
The Climate Change Act
The Climate Change Act has committed the government to reducing gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, and reducing CO2 emissions by at least 26% by 2020, set against a 1990 baseline
National Planning Policy Framework
The NPPF confirms the Government’s support for sustainable energy production when it states as follows:-
14. At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking.
For decision-taking this means:
•approving development proposals that accord with the development plan without delay; and
• where the development plan is absent, silent or relevant policies are out of date, granting permission unless:
––any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole; or––specific policies in this Framework indicate development should be restricted
Core planning principles
17. Within the overarching roles that the planning system ought to play, a set of core land-use planning principles should underpin both plan-making and decision-taking. These 12 principles are that planning should:
•support the transition to a low carbon future in a changing climate, taking full account of flood risk and coastal change, and encourage the reuse of existing resources, including conversion of existing buildings, and encourage the use of renewable resources (for example, by the development of renewable energy)
10. Meeting the challenge of climate change, flooding and coastal change
93. Planning plays a key role in helping shape places to secure radical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, minimising vulnerability and providing resilience to the impacts of climate change, and supporting the delivery of renewable and low carbon energy and associated infrastructure. This is central to the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
97. To help increase the use and supply of renewable and low carbon energy, local planning authorities should recognise the responsibility on all communities to contribute to energy generation from renewable or low carbon sources. They should:
•have a positive strategy to promote energy from renewable and low carbon sources;
•design their policies to maximise renewable and low carbon energy development while ensuring that adverse impacts are addressed satisfactorily, including cumulative landscape and visual impacts;
•98. When determining planning applications, local planning authorities should:
•not require applicants for energy development to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy and also recognise that even small-scale projects provide a valuable contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions; and
•approve the application if its impacts are (or can be made) acceptable. Once suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy have been identified in plans, local planning authorities should also expect subsequent applications for commercial scale projects outside these areas to demonstrate that the proposed location meets the criteria used in identifying suitable areas.
B.Local Policies
The Burnley Local Plan was adopted on 4 April 2006. The NPPF makes it clear that its policies will now have little weight especially if they conflict with the NPPF.
The NPPS, published in March, 2012 states at page 48:-
214. For 12 months from the day of publication, decision-takers may continue to give full weight to relevant policies adopted since 200439 even if there is a limited degree of conflict with this Framework.
215. In other cases and following this 12-month period, due weight should be given to relevant policies in existing plans according to their degree of consistency with this framework (the closer the policies in the plan to the policies in the Framework, the greater the weight that may be given).
E31 – Wind Farms
The development of wind farms and related development will be approved, providedthat:
a. there is no unacceptable impact on the character of the landscape or on the
visual amenity of the area by reason of the siting, number, design, colour or
layout of the wind turbines;
b. there is no unacceptable effect on the setting of buildings and sites of
architectural and historic interest and sites of archaeological importance;
c. there is no unacceptable effect on sites of nature conservation value or
biodiversity action plan priority habitats or species;
d. there is no unacceptable effect on the amenity of local residents
e. the proposal is close to the electricity distribution network and the length of
any overhead electricity connection cables is minimised;
f. it does not adversely affect any recreational facilities and routes;
g. any electromagnetic disturbance on existing transmitting or receiving systemsis minimised; and
h. applications are accompanied by a scheme for removal of any associated
structures, and reinstatement of the site to its former use in the event of the
site becoming non-operational.
Development that would have a negative cumulative impact in relation to existing windturbines or extant approvals for these will not be permitted.
“The open, exposed upland areas of Burnley with high, annual, mean wind speedshave potential for further wind farm development”
E27 - Landscape Character and Local Distinctiveness in Rural Areas and Green Belt.
All proposals for new development in Rural Areas and the Green Belt will be expectedto contribute to the protection, enhancement and restoration of the Borough’s distinctive landscape character by:
a. protecting critical environmental capital and key features in the landscape,
b. protecting the setting of rural and urban settlements;
c. protecting, enhancing and restoring archaeological and historical features;
d. protecting farmsteads, barns, mills and other prominent buildings, and man
made features such as ponds, lodges, and bridges;
e. protecting and enhancing historic field patterns, including walls and
hedgerows;
f. seeking the use of local materials, or the nearest match, and vernacular
styles in all new buildings, walls, and fences, and by resisting urban style
lighting, materials and standardised detailing;
g. maintaining views and avoiding skyline development;
h. encouraging tree planting, woodland and afforestation of native species whenappropriate in the landscape setting;
i. protecting and restoring native species;
j. protecting, restoring, enhancing, and creating habitats;
k. reclaiming derelict land where appropriate; and
l. by conserving and enhancing river corridors.
E3 - Wildlife Links andCorridors.
Development will not be permitted where it would sever, or significantly detract fromthe function of Wildlife Links and Corridors, as shown on the Proposals Map.
Where development is permitted:
a. planning conditions and agreements will be used to provide safeguards and
compensatory measures where appropriate; and
b. new development will be expected to enhance existing Wildlife Corridors and,where appropriate, provide extensions.
E2 - Nature Conservation
Locally Important Sites
Development likely to have an adverse effect on the Biological Heritage Sites,
Regionally important Geological/Geomorphological Sites or Local Nature Reservesshown on the Proposals Map, will not be permitted.
E4 – Protection of OtherFeatures of Ecological Value
Features of ecological value and potential such as ponds, hedgerows, dry stone wallsand watercourses and their associated corridors will be safeguarded whereverpossible by requiring their retention in new development. Proposals should takeadvantage of opportunities to create new wildlife habitats where these can be includedas part of a site layout and landscaping schemes.
Where necessary, planning agreements will be required to secure appropriate
management of such sites.
Applicant comments
The Local Plan issues (and previous national and regional policies now largely replaced by the NPPF) have been extensively considered for this area with regard to the planning appeal in 2002 for 3 much taller wind turbines on adjoining land at 91m to blade tip (2002/0156 and appeal no APP/Z2315/A/1117063) and then again for a further approval for 3 more turbines of the same size in 2009 (
2009/0756)
The Inspector, when making recommendations to the Secretary of State with regard to the earliest application (and where the appeal also dealt with an application for 12 turbines at Clowbridge) stated as follows:-
Policy issues were again discussed in 2009 with regard to the application to increase the number at the site by a further three slightly higher turbines at 110m to blade tip. The LPA’s file report concludes as follows:-
The proposed 2 smaller turbines are on lower slopes than the existing turbines and those currently under construction but they will form part of the same cluster and will be “read” as such when seen from main vantage points.
The Design and access statement should be read in conjuction with this Planning Statement where issues such as noise, ecology, the cultural heritage and shadow flicker are addressed
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