Renewables giant to bring judicial review over wind turbine distances

One of the leading renewables companies in the UK has launched judicial review proceedings against a local authority over its imposition of minimum separation distances between wind turbines and residential properties.

Milton Keynes Council has adopted a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) containing the distances.

RWE Npower Renewables (NRL) said it had informed the local authority of its concerns but these had not been addressed.

Counsel for the company, Gordon Nardell QC and James Burton of 39 Essex Street, claimed that Milton Keynes had “gone further than most” local authorities, several of whom have recently been attempting to use local planning policies to “dilute the strong support in national energy and planning policy for onshore wind schemes”. 

The claimant suggests that if the SPD were to be applied in planning decisions, it would “effectively prevent commercial wind energy schemes in all but tiny parts of the borough”.

It also argues that:

• legislation and Government guidance required SPDs to supplement, not contravene, adopted local plan policies;
• The council had “misused” the SPD as a way of circumventing formal examination in public of development plan documents (DPDs);
• If the council had included its separation distance policy in a DPD, the policy would fail the “soundness” test because of the conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework.

A spokeswoman for the claimant said: “NRL believes the planning document conflicts with the council’s own existing policies on wind energy and also with the government’s national guidance.
 
“We have communicated our concerns several times with Milton Keynes Council. However, the council has not provided a substantive response. We have been advised by our lawyers to proceed with lodging a judicial review.”