Latest Press Release : Conservatives Call for Clarity & Transparency on Council Wind Turbines The Conservative Group on Fife Council have called for clarity and transparency on the Council’s plans for its own wind turbines. Group Leader, Cllr Dave Dempsey said “In January, the Council’s Executive Committee authorised feasibility studies in respect of 15 sites to assess the suitability for the development of small scale wind turbine developments by or on behalf of the Council. We didn’t oppose that. While we have doubts about wind turbines in general, we recognise that there are generous subsidies for operators and we can see the argument that such subsidies should go to the Council rather than to private developers. The report talked of ten 35m, three 80m and three 120m turbines but named no sites. Another report to the same meeting noted that “Class 33 permitted development rights allow the Council, to undertake small wind developments that do not comprise ‘bad neighbour’ development without applying for full planning permission”. A few weeks ago, out of the blue, twenty five “Screening Opinions” appeared in the weekly list of planning applications. A few days later, councillors received a briefing note explaining that Screening Opinion is a request to the planners to establish what would be needed for a full planning application. The briefing note also noted that the turbines in question would be “3 bladed vertical axis turbines with tubular towers”. This is the type of turbine installed at Dunfermline High School and is less obtrusive than the more common “windmill” type. We were also told that the twenty five sites had been selected from a list of fifty possibles. We have no idea where the other twenty five are. Hot on the heels of that came another note, saying that the turbines would in fact be the “windmill” type with a horizontal axis. The whole thing’s a mess. Councillors and, through them, the public are being fed a series of inaccurate, incomplete and inconsistent pieces of information. Before this goes any further, we need to be told all the facts and all the options considered, with the pros and cons of each, so that we can decide what’s the best way ahead. Thereafter, any proposed developments must go through a full and transparent planning process so that the public have every opportunity to make their views known. Wind turbines have their place but it must be the right place.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 18:14:32 +0000
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