Penbetha Farm wind turbine planning application to be considered by planning committee on 8 June

The planning application for a wind turbine at Penbetha Farm, Probus, ref. no. PA14/11579, will be considered at the next meeting of the Council's Central Planning Committee on Monday 8 June. The meeting will be in the old Restormel offices in St Austell and it will start at 10 a.m. The Penbetha turbine is the first item on the agenda.

The officer is recommending refusal on the single ground of adverse impact on the heritage assets in Grampound and the conservation area. The Environmental Health Officer has withdrawn his objection on noise grounds. 

Probus Parish Council is supportive of the application and I understand that they will be sending a representative to speak on their behalf. Grampound Parish Council will presumably send a representative to speak against the application.

I will be attending the meeting and will be speaking in favour of the application. I will also suggest that the committee visits the site before making its final decision; the key point of contention on this application is the visual impact of the turbine on the village of Grampound and I think that the committee should make this judgment based upon their own viewing of the situation. It will be for the committee to decide if they wish to do this. They would be within their rights to rely on the officer's report if they felt that this was sufficient for them.

The agenda for the meeting can be viewed on Cornwall Council's website at Central Planning Committee

Please note that, as background to this application, a full schedule of turbines and solar farms already in operation in Cornwall can be viewed on this website at Wind and Solar in Cornwall

May 2015