Looks like no more wind from East Midlands Ass

VICTORY IN BATTLE OVER WIND FARMS
East Lincolnshire Echo

Campaigners have won a major battle in the war to stop wind farms being built near their homes.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has finally agreed to drop a highly controversial map which designates huge chunks of Lincolnshire as "highly suitable" for on-shore turbines.

He has also agreed to allow all planning applications involving wind turbines to be assessed on the basis of their "landscape and visual impact" and the effects on the natural, cultural and urban environments, including noise.

Responsibility for assessing such effects has also been handed to councils instead of a regional quango.

In November 2003, county planners were angry when a draft copy of the East Midlands Regional Planning Guidance designated vast areas of Lincolnshire as "highly suitable" for on-shore turbines.

A map showed that more land in Lincolnshire had been earmarked for turbines than any other neighbouring county over the next 16 years.

It was published by the East Midlands Regional Assembly, a Quasi-autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation (quango) made up of both elected and non-elected members

Lincolnshire County Council members objected, saying the map would leave authorities powerless to prevent a spread of turbines.

In response, the assembly has agreed to exclude the map and has issued new guidance giving planning authorities more power to reject applications.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has finally published the finished document - which includes the changes the council fought for.

The county council's planning policy manager Peter Raspin said: "Obviously the map has gone but, in addition, there's new guidance that allows planning authorities to take things like environment impact into consideration."

George Martin, head of planning at West Lindsey District Council, said: "Allowing landscape and visual impacts to be taken into consideration like this will give local people a fighting chance to be involved."

Yet, at the same time, original targets specifying how much on-shore wind energy must be produced within Lincolnshire remain the same. The county is still expected to hold enough on-shore turbines to produce 42 mega-watts of electricity per year - more than any other county in the region.

Anti-wind farm campaigner Steve Taylor, from Scothern, near Lincoln, said: "I'm very pleased with the changes. It gives us a chance to have a proper debate over each application. It was very important that we had the chance to challenge the original document."