This week we received the excellent news that the energy company Ecotricity, has withdrawn its application for the development of six onshore wind turbines at Snave on Romney Marsh. Building six large masts in the middle of Romney Marsh would have been completely inappropriate and out of keeping with the landscape. I believe there should be a presumption against any future development of wind turbines inland on Romney Marsh, which would tower above historic churches and villages and change the character of local communities. The same principle should also apply to sites near villages like Lympne and Sellindge, where large masts would again dominate the skyline compromising not only the Marsh below, but the area of outstanding natural beauty in the North Downs.
The decision of Ecotricity to withdraw their application follows the Government’s announcement to end new subsidies for onshore wind turbines, specifically in relation to the Renewables Obligation. We already have a large number of wind turbines onshore and this subsidy is no longer required, nor can it be justified. Legislation will be introduced to parliament to bring it to and end from 1st April 2016, a year earlier than had been planned.
The Government has also announced that it will be changing the law so that all planning applications for onshore wind turbines in England will be considered by elected councils accountable to their local communities. These councils will be able to take into account a set of new considerations to be applied to onshore wind farms. These include that, firstly wind turbines should only get the go-ahead if they have been clearly allocated by local people in a Local or Neighbourhood Plan; which means that the community has already decided that this is something they want, and if so where they think they should go. Also, planning applications should not be approved unless the planning impacts identified by affected local communities have been fully addressed and therefore the proposal has their backing. This second test will reassure a local community that even when their plan set outs support for wind power, any concerns they have about its impact will be addressed.
These changes will end the process of developers putting in speculative applications for onshore wind turbines against the wishes of the local community. Local councils will also know that they have the power to turn down applications without the risk of their decision being overturned by the planning inspector following an appeal from the developer.
The changes do not in anyway reduce our commitment to the production of new sources of clean and sustainable energy. I believe that the future for wind power should lie in large offshore farms, like the London Array, off of the coast near to Ramsgate. For our area, my number one commitment for future energy production is a sustainable future for nuclear power at Dungeness. We have already achieved a life extension for the existing B station, which means that it will continue to operate until at least 2028. I want to see a new generation nuclear reactor built there as well to guarantee the local jobs and a secure supply of energy, whether or not the wind blows, or the sun shines, for decades to come.
