Wind farm to be replaced by turbines three times as big
A meeting was held
Residents are concerned about a repowered wind farm where new turbines will be three times the size of those currently on the site.
However, a Cornwall Council strategic planning committee meeting heard that families who farm the land around the Bears Down wind farm at St Eval welcome the new development.
Wadebridge-based Clean Earth Energy Ltd applied to replace the 16-turbine windfarm, which is coming to the end of its 25-year operational life, with four turbines which will be 150 metres to blade tip. The current turbines are 57 metres.
The wind farm is just under a kilometre from St Eval village and slightly over four kilometres from Newquay airport.
Kim Hayward, chair of St Eval Parish Council, told the meeting she was speaking on behalf of residents rather than in her council role.
“The residents already have to deal with excessive noise and flicker which does cause problems, especially for adults and children with epilepsy, also children with ADHD and autism. The flicker does exist, whatever anybody says, unless you live there … the flicker does exist.”
She added that the turbines will be “completely overbearing” and would have a visual impact and create landscape harm. She said it would create an “unacceptable nuisance” for residents, users of a public footpath, two campsites and working farmland.
Liz McKenzie, chair of St Mawgan-in-Pydar Parish Council, also spoke in opposition due to the scale and impact of the turbines, which would be visible from “extensive locations”. She pointed out that Historic England had expressed concerns about the height of the turbines and that Cornwall Council’s own landscape officer believed they should be around 100m in height rather than 150m.
Scott Taylor, representing St Columb Major Town Council, who is also mayor of the town, was next to speak against the application.
“The level of concern within the community is significant and those concerns relate to substantive planning matters,” he said. “We recognise the importance of renewable energy and the repowering of existing infrastructure can provide benefits, but the benefits should not mean that the impacts are automatically considered acceptable.”
David Kempthorne told the committee that he is from one of three farming families who own and farm the land around the Bears Down wind farm and he was speaking on behalf of them all. They all support the plan.
“It’s the right next step for this established wind farm site,” he said. “Our families have farmed this land between three and four generations. For over 25 years the turbines have operated alongside normal farming, with livestock grazing, arable use and day-to-day farm work continuing around them.
“The repowering is important for us because it will give us an opportunity to keep our farms going, have minimal impact on farming activities, give our businesses long-term security and support our families when farming is under real pressure.”
He said the four bigger turbines would generate three times the amount of electricity each year as produced by the 16 turbines currently on site; equivalent to around 5% of the homes in Cornwall.
Mr Kempthorne added that a similar solar scheme would require up to 150 hectares, which is the size of two of the three farms he was representing. He said that he had never experienced shadow flicker from the existing turbines, but could not speak for other people.
Amber Trembath, representing applicant Clean Earth Energy Ltd, said the proposed turbines would produce enough electricity to power 15,000 homes or one in 20 Cornish households. She stressed that the MOD and Newquay airport had both stated that there would not be an impact on aviation safety.
Local member Cllr Rowland O’Connor, who represents St Columb Major, St Mawgan and St Wenn, brought the matter to committee. He said: “I support renewable energy and I support repowering Bears Down. I’m not asking whether this site should be repowered, I’m asking whether four turbines at 150m are acceptable here.”
He asked for a deferral for legal advice following the publication of the Government’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) earlier in the week. Legal and planning officers argued that the committee had the sufficient details in front of them, which are unaffected by the NPPF, to make a decision.
During debate, Cllr Adrian Parsons said: “With any scheme like this, the local people’s views should be taken into consideration as there is no doubt going to be not just an impact on the landscape but an impact on their lives, of which shadow flicker is something we should take seriously.”
However, he said planning policy gave significant weight to renewable energy proposals, which he thought would override any concerns about the wind farm’s impact on the National Landscape.
Cllr Andrew Long said the council was likely to lose any appeal. “The reality is that central government is imposing policies on us, once again, that we have no ability to do anything with – no ability to oppose, no ability to protect ourselves while opposing them.
“I’m in the invidious position of saying whilst I get really frustrated by the continued attack on the people of Cornwall through planning policies made in London, in this situation we don’t have any choice in the matter.”
The application was approved with eight votes in favour, one against and no abstentions.