New UK Government Lifts De Facto Ban on Onshore Wind
Yesterday the new Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the lifting of the de facto ban on onshore wind in England. The move comes into force immediately and is part of a wider plan that seeks to double the capacity of onshore wind in Britain by 2030, and is in line with the Climate Changes committee’s advice that the UK needs to install 35GW of onshore wind by 2035 to deliver a key step on the way to net zero. There is currently 15GW of installed onshore wind capacity in the UK, with over half being in Scotland.
Until yesterday planning policy effectively restricted development of onshore wind in England by expecting developers to meet a very challenging set of tests including inclusion of onshore wind proposals in a local development plan and have zero opposition from the local community. These policy tests no longer apply, meaning that onshore wind applications will be treated in the same way as other energy development. The changes will also be part of a wider revision of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) due to come before Parliament on 18th July.
The move provides an excellent opportunity for clients to bring forward schemes previously held back by inability to pass the now redundant tests and Wardell Armstrong is looking forward to supporting onshore wind projects in England from survey to design and planning consent through to construction.
