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Wind Power: Planning Permission

Answer

The National Planning Policy Framework expects local councils to design their policies to ensure that adverse impacts from renewable energy developments are addressed satisfactorily and makes clear that a planning application for renewable energy should be approved only if the impact is, or can be made, acceptable. The National Planning Policy Framework also makes clear that great weight should be given to conserving landscape and scenic beauty in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

To help implement the framework, we published new planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy. The guidance is clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections and the planning concerns of local people. It also underlines that in shaping local criteria for inclusion in local plans, and considering applications in the meantime, proposals for wind turbines in areas close to national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty will need careful consideration where there could be an adverse impact on the protected area.

The guidance explains that local planning authorities should not rule out otherwise acceptable renewable energy developments through inflexible rules on buffer zones or separation distances. This is because other than when dealing with set back distances for safety, distance of itself does not necessarily determine whether the impact of a proposal is unacceptable. Distance plays a part, but so does the local context including factors such as topography, the local environment and

nearby land uses. This is why it is important to think about in what circumstances proposals are likely to be acceptable and plan on this basis.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

169061; 568 cc396-7W

Session

2013-14

Transferred

Yes

Subjects

National landscapes Planning permission National parks Wind power

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk