Fullabrook Farm Inquiry

The Secretary Of State For Trade And Industry has given notice that a public inquiry will be held into the application for the Fullabrook wind farm.

The Secretary of State has appointed Dr Chris Gossop BSc, MA, PhD, MRTPI, an Inspector in the Planning Inspectorate, to hold the inquiry on his behalf.

A pre-inquiry meeting has been held. The inquiry itself will start at 10am on Tuesday 28 November 2006 at the Guildhall, Barnstaple. It has been timetabled for a 4 week period, with the Inquiry sitting on Tuesdays to Fridays each week.

Rule 5 of the electricity inquiry rules requires the Secretary of State to serve a statement of the matters which appear to him to be likely to be relevant to his consideration of the application made under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. These are:

  1. the extent to which the proposed development is consistent with the objectives of the policies CO1, CO3, CO4, CO5 and CO12 of the Devon Structure Plan , policies DL1, DL3 and DCR1 of the North Devon Local Plan and policies ENV2, ENV5, ENV6 and ENV15 of the North Devon Local Plan Revised Deposit;
  2. the extent to which the proposed development is consistent with the objectives of H.M.Government’s policy on energy as set out in the Energy White Paper entitled “Our energy future – creating a low carbon economy” (Cm 5761 February 2003) and the Energy Review Report 2006 (Cm 6887 July 2006);
  3. the impact on the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty;
  4. the impact on the North Devon Landscape Character Zone;
  5. the impact on the North Devon Area of Great Landscape Value;
  6. the visual impact of the proposed development;
  7. noise generated from operation of the proposed development;
  8. the implications of the proposed development for areas of nature conservation interest and on fauna, particularly ornithological and protectedspecies;
  9. the impact of construction traffic on the local highways, including users and safety;
  10. the impact on the historic environment, including listed buildings, registered parks and gardens, and ancient roads;
  11. the impact on Public Rights of Way and bridle paths; and
  12. the impact on tourism and local businesses.

The procedure to be followed at the inquiry into the application under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 is governed by the Electricity Generating Stations and Overhead Lines (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1990 (the electricity inquiry rules).