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Lyveden New Bield windfarm case unites heritage bodies
Credit: Northamptonshire Telegraph | 20 February 2013 | www.northantstelegraph.co.uk ~~
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Leading conservation bodies have united for the first time in a High Court battle against plans for a windfarm they say will result in substantial harm to a heritage area of national significance.
English Heritage and the National Trust say if they lose the landmark case, which concerns an area north of Catshead Woods on farmland at Sudborough and near Lyveden New Bield, the protection of other important historic sites around the country could also be undermined.
They argue the area has many important heritage assets.
English Heritage and the National Trust are supporting East Northamptonshire District Council’s legal bid to block plans for four wind turbines in.
There is particular concern over the windfarm’s impact on Lyveden New Bield, a 17th-century lodge which has one of the finest surviving examples of an Elizabethan garden in the country.
The district council rejected the windfarm plans, then involving five wind turbine generators, in 2010 following strong local opposition and fears the heritage of the area would be put at risk through their interference with panoramic views.
But developers Barnwell Manor Wind Energy Ltd appealed, and in March last year public inquiry inspector Paul Griffiths allowed the construction of four turbines.
The proposals include building a sub-station, access road, an 80m anemometer mast, underground cabling and temporary construction facilities.
Each turbine will have a hub height of 85m, a rotor diameter of approximately 93m and total maximum height of 126.5m.
The inspector said he recognised the case had wide implications for listed buildings and conservation areas and the proposal would cause harm to the setting of a range of designated heritage assets.
But the harm was less than substantial and was outweighed by the significant benefits the windfarm would bring in terms of renewable energy.
Today (Wednesday, February 20), Morag Ellis QC, representing the council, argued at the High Court the inspector’s decision was legally flawed and he had underestimated the harm which would be caused.
Ms Ellis told Mrs Justice Lang the way the inspector had worded his decision was “genuinely mysterious and wholly inadequate”.
He had concluded the presence of the turbines would not erode a reasonable observer’s understanding or appreciation of the significance of the designated heritage assets – and they would therefore have no harmful impact on their settings.
Ms Ellis said: “That is an extraordinary conclusion. There are a great many top-dollar heritage assets involved here.
“This decision turns Government policy on conservation on its head.”
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