This page contains an article, paper, news item or other source of evidence referred to in The Case Against Windfarms
Windfarm Wars is a main section of Country Guardian's website dealing with the issues surrounding the Planning Process. It brings together information and guidelines to help individuals and groups fight a windfarm proposal, background papers on the planning process and information and links to dozens of windfarm action groups in the UK and World-wide
1. Information and guidelines
The Case against Windfarms Section R provides an introduction to the topic. Written in 2000 it is still valid, but you should be aware that the current Government is hell-bent on bending the planning system to make it more supportive of onshore wind, in a panic measure in response the great success of the conservation groups.
Fighting a Windfarm Proposal brings together the practicalities faced by a local community which has just discovered that a windfarm developer has a proposal to build a windfarm nearby. This is usually when an application has been submitted for planning permission to erect an anemometer (to determine whether the site is windy enough), but it is much better if the proposal can be discovered long before this stage, at the point where when developers get into discussions with the Planning Authority.
It is also useful to know that the Government has laid down targets for Renewables, including wind energy, for each of the devolved administrations and the English regions.
2. Background Papers
Environmental Impact Assessments
The Royal Town Planning Institute has published a set of Planning Practice Standards for Environmental Impact Assessments This document, which gives detailed guidelines for EIAs, which are normally required for windfarm applications. It can be viewed at and downloaded from: http://www.rtpi.org.uk/resources/publications/environment/eia/#top
Policy Planning Statement PPS22
Issued for consultation by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in November in November 2003 instantly drew fire from conservation groups. This was instructing planning authorities to plan to build windfarms and has rejected the arguments that Areas of Local Landscape Value, and areas on the fringes of National Parks/SSSI’s/AONBs should be protected. Noise intrusion and bird strikes are dismissed as trivial. Aspects such as problems with grid connections, and the general lack of viability of wind energy will not be an argument. Some designated areas get limited protection, but “small windfarms may be permitted in them”.
3. Action Groups and Linked sites
In almost all cases where a windfarm development is proposed an opposition group is formed. This list has been compiled as a guide and reference to assist windfarm action groups to contact each other, particularly new groups, which will thus avoid 'reinventing the wheel' and gain gain a lot of moral support in the early stages. Many of these them are group members of Country Guardian and many have individual members who are also CG members, however, it is important to emphasise that Country Guardian does not have 'branches' and that all these groups are totally autonomous. Increasingly the groups are building up a national and indeed international network, visiting each other and exploiting email and Internet sites to communicate. Currently 52 sites are recorded, but they are growing as the Government pushes for more and more onshore windfarms.
This is a list of over 30 links. They include some of the sites from UK Windfarm Action Groups, included because they are groups which operate beyond their own locality or at regional level, or have particularly interesting sites and links.
The list also includes sites in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, United States, New Zealand