July 2007

Coronation Power today submits supplementary environmental reports to Rochdale, Calderdale and Rossendale local planning authorities in respect of the Reaps Moss, Todmroden Moor and Crook Hill Wind Farm applications. The reports set out to address and further assess the main issues raised by statutory and public consultees in the review period of the planning applications.

At a time of demonstrable change in the climate, as the UK floods through torrential rainfall and southern Europe burns under intense heat, Coronation Power’s proposed wind farms are going to be the test of our commitment in doing something about climate change and global warming. If they are approved, then perhaps in years to come generations will look back and positively recognise the actions we are deciding on now. If the applications are refused, well, it is not worth contemplating …

The submission of the supplementary environmental reports (SERs) is likely to lead to a conclusion in the consultation and determination phase of the planning applications. A further phase of consultation will take place now on the SERs, and it is hoped that the planning authorities will then have enough information to make their recommendations to committee. Decisions on the applications could well be due in September of this year.

As Bonnie Turner, Community Relations Officer of Coronation Power, says: “After three years in the planning, widespread site finding and consultation exercises, and detailed design work in the development of these wind farms, we can finally look forward to a decision on our projects. We feel they are well conceived – they are located in areas that are not protected for landscape and ecology, they will provide considerable clean generation output for the region, and they will have significant knock-on wider economic and community benefits. Yes, they will be visible. That is the nature of turbines. But the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, and we need to take a leap of faith, collectively, at this time to have a realistic chance of dealing with global warming.

“Our wind farm proposals are some of the last schemes that could be built and operational by 2010. The North West and Yorkshire and Humberside regions are way behind in their 2010 renewables generation targets and consenting schemes such as ours is the only means of making inroads towards them.

“Yorkshire and Humberside have a current installed renewables capacity is approximately 168.5MW, whilst the Regional Spatial Strategy target for 2010 is 708MW. Consequently only 24% of the target has been achieved. With respect to onshore wind energy, only 26.3MW has been consented against a target of 341MW. In the North West, the target of 8.5% of generation from renewables by 2010 may not be achieved.”

The SERs address the main issues that have emerged on the wind farm applications during the consultation period. These issues related mainly to landscape and visual effects, construction methods on degraded peat habitats, protection of amenity (particularly rights of way users and noise levels at domestic properties), site access arrangements and ecology. Further clarification of particular matters and additional environmental assessment work is presented. Of note is the fact that no statutory consultees are objecting to the proposals, except in the case of Reaps Moss where these was an objection from NATS, who have now withdrawn their objection. At present it also looks like letters of support outweigh the letters of objection, demonstrating public support for the proposals.

“At this time there is no greater need for renewables, and so we ask that Council members strongly to consider the importance of their position and approve the wind farms in the light of widespread consultee and public support for our schemes” says Miss Turner.