Fullabrook Wind Farm Approved

The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform announced at the beginning of October that Devon Wind Power Limited could build and operate the 66MW Fullabrook Wind Farm.

The approval will be seen as ground breaking as it is the first large scale wind farm to be approved in the County of Devon despite it having one of the highest wind resources in the UK and having been the subject of many unsuccessful applications over the last ten years.

The Secretary of State’s decision follows the four week public inquiry into the Section 36 application over December 2006 and January 2007.

Argument centred principally on four main issues, landscape and visual impacts, noise and impacts on tourism, balanced against the need for the development in terms of meeting national, regional and local targets for new renewable generating capacity by 2010 and 2020.

The application and inquiry team were led by solicitor advocate Patrick Robinson of Burges Salmon LLP who presented the case for DWP.

Keith Pyne, Managing Director of Devon Wind Power said:

“Devon Wind Power is delighted with the news that paves the way for our local area to make a nationally significant contribution to new energy generation that reduces carbon emissions, contributes to security of supply and provides real benefits to the local population and economy. The decision is also a huge endorsement of the professionalism of the team that worked with us for over three years to develop and deliver the project”

Ross Fairley, Head of Renewables at Burges Salmon LLP said:

“We are proud to have been able to play such a central part in bringing forward such a major scheme that has called for legal expertise across a broad spectrum of disciplines that we field at Burges Salmon. Whilst undoubtedly a team effort, it does particularly illustrate the quality of the Burges Salmon planning team both Patrick Robinson, as solicitor advocate and team leader and Liz Dunn who led on all the wide ranging non-contentious legal aspects of the planning process. We look forward to assisting further in bringing the scheme to development”