E is for Energy

Here is the response to a petition sent to government to help farms use small scale wind power to make food for YOU.

Campaign for Wind Turbines on Farms:

Nov 12 at 1:21 PM

Thank you for your recent email to Kris Hopkins MP about permitted development rights for wind turbines on agricultural land.

Permitted development rights remove the requirement for a planning application for development meeting certain criteria that are designed to limit impacts. They are set nationally, and seek to strike a balance between allowing individual freedom to carry out development while protecting the interests of neighbours and the amenity or character of an area. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (as amended) allows for some agricultural development to be undertaken as permitted development.

I already know this, the petition is asking the government to change planning restrictions as they promised so that farmers can grow our food using renewable energy.

In order to help farmers diversify and make the best use of their empty or underused buildings the Government has extended the permitted development rights for change of use. Since 30 May 2013 agricultural buildings can change to a number of other uses including shops, financial and professional services, cafes, offices, storage and assembly and leisure uses.

Working farms need their buildings for farming. They want the right to install small scale wind power as the government promised.

The Department has also recently consulted on further relaxation to permitted development rights, including allowing existing buildings used for agricultural purposes to change to residential use. Details are set out in the consultation document – Greater flexibilities for change of use, which can still be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/greater-flexibilities-for-change-of-use. The consultation closed on 15 October and the responses are being considered, with a view to introducing any new regulation in April 2014. There are however, currently no proposals for further changes to the rules.

Relating to wind turbines on agricultural land, there is a supportive planning policy framework in place, notably for suitably located wind turbine proposals and to support land based rural business. In particular we have been clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that local councils should look to approve applications for renewable energy developments, where the impacts are, or can be made, acceptable.

This is why I signed the petition and asked you to make changes to the planing rules.

I should point out that Wales has a separate planning regime, and any requests for changes to permitted development rights in Wales should be addressed to the National Assembly for Wales.

John Hurley
Department for Communities and Local Government
Eland House
London
SW1E 5DU

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Your government in action: say nothing, or very little about the issue.

The UK has a good start on wind energy.

We still have a long way to go. Integrating the generation of wind energy with mass storage of electricity will be the big breakthrough we need to reach a renewable future.

I will discuss the use of mass storage of electricity in my book E – Is For Energy.