New sites in South Gloucestershire earmarked for wind turbines
Local planners are exploring where best could be used to generate low-cost renewable energy
Last updated 20th Jun 2024
Seven sites across South Gloucestershire could be earmarked as areas where large new wind turbines might be built. Ahead of the expected lifting of a ban on onshore wind, local planners are exploring where best in the district could be used to generate low-cost renewable energy.
South Gloucestershire Council is drawing up a new Local Plan, a wide-ranging document which sets out where new developments should be built over the next few years. As well as housing estates, this also includes other plans like energy generation.
The council will consult the public on the Local Plan this winter, and it will come into effect in 2025. Opposition councillors warned building wind farms could be “controversial” in some parts of the district, during a meeting of the scrutiny commission on Wednesday, July 26.
Conservative Councillor Matthew Riddle, representing Severn Vale, said: “In the Local Plan consultation so far, there was a map showing safeguarding areas for wind turbines, which is probably a little bit more controversial in the Severn Vale than solar panels. And two of those sites that were identified for safeguarding had already gone through the planning process and been refused at appeal. Is it right that those sites are still safeguarded?”
Building onshore wind turbines was effectively banned by the government in 2015, although late last year ministers appeared to signal they would lift that ban. The government recently consulted on changing rules in its National Planning Policy Framework to make new onshore wind farms much easier to build — but is reportedly now backtracking on these plans. Labour however has promised to lift the de facto ban, if it wins a general election next year.
Draft maps show two potential wind farm sites near Shepperdine and Oldbury Naite, one in between Pilning and Almondsbury, one near Wickwar and Charfield, one east of Little Sodbury, one between Tormaton and Acton Turnville, and one running along the M4. However, the new Local Plan will be less detailed than usual, due to a failure of politicians to agree a region-wide version last year.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Chris Willmore, cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said: “The next draft will have a strong policy commitment, as you would expect from the current administration. It’s not necessarily going to identify sites. The abandonment of the Spatial Development Strategy last May means that getting that big picture protection in place is the most important thing.
“That means that what you’ll get in the Local Plan is not going to be as detailed as we might have traditionally seen, because getting to that very granular detail on absolutely everything takes too long, and we need to get something in place to protect us from planning by appeal.”
The work on the new Local Plan began before the Liberal Democrats and Labour took power in South Gloucestershire, and staff are now quickly reviewing the plan to check it matches the policy ambitions of the new administration. One change is a greater emphasis on finding sites for renewable energy generation, such as wind turbines, solar panels, and geothermal.
Areas in the district which would be ideal for solar panels or wind turbines are “safeguarded” in the new Local Plan, to prevent other developments scuppering the option of renewable energy generation. Safeguarding doesn’t mean permission for energy generation would automatically be granted, and a planning application would be needed for each site.
Brian Glasson, service director for planning, said: “With wind power, there are limited locations that have the grid connections and the wind speeds necessary to make investment in turbines viable. So it is probably important we continue to safeguard those areas in the Local Plan — but it would be an option to make them smaller or more specific, in light of comments from the public consultation planned this winter.”