Pontefract Windfarm Action Group - MP adds voice to storm over Darrington wind farm

MP adds voice to storm over Darrington wind farm

Article by Ellen Beardmore, Pontefract & Castleford Express 23 February 2010

BLOW IT AWAY:Campaigners celebrated after planners initally rejected the plans

A STORMY battle over plans for a wind farm in Darrington has taken a new twist after MP Yvette Cooper wrote to the minister deciding its fate.

Banks Renewables' controversial bid to install five 125-metre turbines off Westfield Lane was heard at a public inquiry last year and is awaiting a final decision from John Denham, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

In a letter to Mr Denham dated January 22, Pontefract and Castleford MP Yvette Cooper said she was "concerned about the proximity of some of the turbines to the village of Darrington" given the geography of the area.

She also highlighted the fact that the plans had been rejected by Wakefield Council planners and opposed by Labour, Conservative and Green politicians - with her constituents "understandably keen for you to know the strength of local feeling on the issue".

Pontefract Wind Farm Action Group member Malcolm Bennett - who met Ms Cooper and urged her to write to Mr Denham last December - said: "I'm pleased to see her response and that she covered the two points which I expected her to - to share the concerns for the proximity of turbines and that an unanimous decision was made to reject the plans, yet it's been recovered and a decision is now out of local hands.
"We probably would have wished to have seen the letter a little sooner though.
"While it isn't up to her to rule out anything, I don't think the letter was as strong as it could be."

In her letter Ms Cooper also said more wind farms were "clearly" needed across Britain to tackle climate change and the "potentially catastrophic consequences" of global warming and for that reason the area south of Pontefract should not be ruled out of consideration for wind farms or other green energy plans.

Campaigner David Holmes said: "Having seen this letter I am disappointed that Ms Cooper has not wholeheartedly ruled out a wind farm in the area she calls south Pontefract as it's one of the few green areas here and it would be a shame to lose that for turbines.
"I also think that her comments are now out of date when talking about building wind farms across the country when they are more effective off shore.
"We are pleased to see she has mentioned the local decision - this should never have gone to public inquiry.
"It can't be deemed as of national importance when the damage potentially caused far outweighs the benefits."

Ms Cooper also raised constituents' questions - including one about what consideration would be given to Wakefield Council's view on the wind farm plans - to Mr Denham in her letter.

More than 2,000 objections, many of which said the turbines would destroy the area and residents' lives, were made to the wind farm plans before they were rejected by Wakefield Council planners in March.
But Banks-which says the farm would help tackle climate change locally and nationally and contribute to the council's renewable energy targets - appealed, triggering the public inquiry.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said a target date for a decision on the plans was April 22.

Article by Ellen Beardmore, Pontefract & Castleford Express 23 February 2010