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Rural councils compelled to approve more wind and solar farms under new planning rules

August 15, 2024

Rural councils across England will be required to approve a significant increase in wind and solar farms under a new set of planning rules introduced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.

The changes, outlined in draft planning documents from the Housing, Communities and Local Government department, are designed to accelerate the UK’s transition to green energy and meet net zero targets.

Under the revised National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities must actively support projects that contribute to renewable and low-carbon energy production. This shift means councils that reject such proposals will face the risk of expensive legal appeals, which developers are likely to win, making it increasingly difficult for local authorities to block these developments.

The changes come on the heels of Scotland’s recent approval of the tallest wind turbines in the UK, standing over 823 feet tall, and Labour’s decision to lift the ban on onshore wind farms in England. The new rules will require councils to identify suitable areas for renewable energy projects within their local plans and will expand their responsibility to approve projects generating up to 100 megawatts—double the current limit.

While the guidelines still allow councillors on planning committees to refuse projects, any rejections are expected to be challenged and likely overturned on appeal. This initiative is part of a broader effort to remove bottlenecks in the approval process, which previously required national oversight for projects exceeding 50 megawatts.

Angela Rayner’s planning overhaul is expected to pave the way for large-scale wind farm developments across England, similar to those already seen in Scotland and Wales, but with the potential for much larger machines than previously used.

A spokesman for Rayner emphasised the importance of community engagement in the rollout of renewable projects, ensuring that local areas benefit from hosting such infrastructure. However, legal experts, such as Mustafa Latif-Aramesh of BDB Pitmans, noted that these changes would make it significantly harder for councils to reject wind and solar proposals, thereby reinforcing the UK’s energy resilience.

Advocacy groups like Britain Remade argue that the government should go even further in loosening planning restrictions, suggesting that vast areas of the English countryside should be automatically deemed suitable for renewable energy projects to streamline the approval process. They propose prioritising sites near grid connections, population centres, and on lower-grade farmland, with Lincolnshire identified as a prime example.

Despite the push for renewable energy, certain areas, including national parks and sites of special scientific interest, will retain protections against large-scale developments. Organisations such as Natural England are working to expand these protected areas to safeguard vulnerable landscapes from the anticipated surge in renewable energy projects.

Environmental groups, while supportive of the transition to green energy, have called for careful consideration of the impact on landscapes and wildlife. Kathryn Brown of The Wildlife Trusts stressed the need to build renewable infrastructure in a way that avoids unnecessary harm to nature, reflecting a broader sentiment that the pursuit of net zero must be balanced with environmental preservation.