Advice to Kay Wright
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- From
- Kay Wright
- Date advice given
- 13 October 2010
- Enquiry type
This large proposed wind farm has been reported in today's Southampton Daily Echo. It says a meeting is to be held in Lymington and refers to the windfarm affecting only the New Forest, however on looking at the map of the proposed wind farm, it would stretch from Lymington right across the Hampshire coastline and beyond Swanage in Dorset.
Also, this development would affect all residents of Hampshire and Dorset who visit their coasts, and the view from all the major beach sites such as Christchurch, Boscombe, Bournemouth and Poole would be filled with windmills on a clear day so there would be no uninterrupted view out to sea for miles along that stretch of coast. Meetings should therefore be held across the 2 counties, not just in Lymington, and the proposed development should be sufficiently publicised for all Hampshire and Dorset residents to have an opportunity to have their say for or against the proposal, or suggestions for changes to it.
Advice given
Thank you for your comments regarding the proposed windfarm on the Hampshire Coast. As you may be aware, this proposal is identified under the project name of 'Isle of Wight Offshore Windfarm' on the IPC website http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/projects/south-east/isle-of-wight-offshore-wind-farm/. At this link you will find contact details given to us by the promoter Eneco Wind UK Ltd.
Until an application is made to us, the project promoter is your first point of contact for any comments you have on the proposal. The Planning Act 2008 created the infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) and the processes by which proposals for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects will be determined. At this stage (pre-application), the Act only allows us to provide advice on the process for submitting or commenting on a proposed application, rather than on the merits of the proposal. The promoter has advised us that it is working with the local authorities about how consultation could be undertaken. There are also requirements about who should be consulted and these include specific local authorities, parish councils and the wider community among others.
Should an application be submitted, the promoter will be required to explain how it has taken account of comments received during any consultation. I attach a weblink to Government guidance on how promoters should approach the consultation process for this kind of development: http://infrastructure.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/guidancepreapplication.pdf.
Eneco has advised us that there are a number of public exhibitions scheduled for various locations, one of which is in Lymington. They have also advised us that these exhibitions are not part of their formal detailed consultation process. Their website contains detailed information surrounding public consultation events which should enable you to be involved in their consultation process at a location near you. http://www.enecowindoffshore.co.uk/news-detail.aspx?newsID=224