Objectors fail to block wind farm plan

10:45am Friday 4th July 2008

AN attempt to block a controversial wind farm has been thrown out at the High Court in London.

Redcar and Cleveland Council had been hoping to win a full public inquiry into EDF Energy's plan to erect 30 turbines standing up to 132 metres above the high-water mark.

Council leader George Dunning believes the 6,500 residents, who wrote to the Government to protest about the decision, have been seriously let down by the ruling.

"We are extremely disappointed," he said. "We thought we had a very good case because 6,500 felt strongly about the plans.

"No one in the area is against the principle of wind farms. It was just the location, size and scale that people were concerned about."

Council lawyers had argued that Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, John Hutton had been wrong not to direct a full public inquiry before giving the go-ahead to the ambitious power generation scheme.

Mr Hutton gave his consent for the construction of the farm by EDF Energy, last September, paving the way for 30 enormous turbines to be built about a mile off the coast at Redcar.

Following a two-day hearing, Mr Justice Sullivan dismissed the council's judicial review challenge.

He said: "I am fundamentally of the view that this application must be rejected. The mere assertion that a wind farm may spoil the outlook generally, and may affect the value of property, is not a sufficient basis on which a challenge can be based.

"In this case, the principle issue, visual impact, is very much a matter of judgment and whether that visual impact would be outweighed by national energy policy."

He said Mr Hutton had ample material, in the form of a comprehensive report, on which he based his decision and had taken into account all factors he was obliged to.

The judge will give more detailed reasons for his decision at a later date.

An EDF spokesman said: "We are very pleased with the decision. We remain committed to the Teesside Offshore Windfarm as part of our overall renewables development programme and are continuing to progress the ongoing site investigations that we commenced when consent was granted for the project in September 2007.

"This consent followed four years of extensive consultations with local people, various national bodies and local councils on the proposed development.

"We intend to maintain this ongoing dialogue with these parties and the local community as the project progresses."

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