Planners have recommended approval of a controversial 122.5-metre-high weather mast near Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, despite 57 objections and concerns about its visual impact and potential disruption to wildlife.
Application to go before committee again
Powys County Council's Planning Committee is set to consider the application by Garreg Fawr Energy Park Limited for a meteorological mast and ancillary structure for a five-year period at land south of Ffynnon Ffrydyll at Merthyr Cynog on Thursday, August 6. The site lies between Sennybridge and Brecon.
Garreg Fawr Energy Park Limited, a subsidiary of Bute Energy, ultimately hopes to construct 22 wind turbines reaching a maximum height of 220 metres at the location. The weather mast will test wind strength in the area ahead of that application.
Deferred to allow consultation
The application was deferred at the committee's previous meeting on July 8 to allow newly elected local county councillor Colin Millichap to canvas residents' opinions. Cllr Millichap (Liberal Democrat) was elected to represent the Yscir with Honddu Isaf and Llanddew ward following a by-election on July 1, which was required after the previous councillor, Iain McIntosh, was elected to the Senedd on May 7. Last December, Mr McIntosh had called in the application to be decided by the Planning Committee.
Under existing rules, those opposed to the scheme – who voiced their objections at the previous planning meeting – will not be permitted to return and speak for a second time, nor will representatives of Bute Energy be allowed to speak in support of it.
Councillor voices concerns
Cllr Millichap stated: "I have spent the last few weeks listening to residents and piecing together the information to form this statement. There are concerns that the mast will be intrusive and its construction will be disruptive to the local area. There are concerns over the visual impact of the mast and the threat to birds and other wildlife. Merthyr Cynog and the surrounding area have given up a lot in the national interest when they lost half of their community in the Epynt clearance. I would ask the committee to give serious consideration to the views of the local community and the points raised regarding the ornithological survey and the position of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and not to approve the met mast application."
Planning officer's recommendation
In her assessment, senior planning officer Catherine James emphasised that the application must be determined on its individual merits and that the potential wind farm development in the background should be disregarded. This comes despite her recommendation being founded on policy which supports renewable energy proposals.
Ms James explained: "This application relates solely to the meteorological mast and does not include any proposal for a wind farm. The recommendation is one of conditional consent. In reaching this conclusion, significant weight is given to the need to support renewable energy and associated infrastructure, in line with Future Wales and PPW (Planning Policy Wales). Whilst some limited landscape and visual impacts have been identified, these are not considered to amount to unacceptable harm and are outweighed by the wider benefits of facilitating renewable energy development."
Garreg Fawr Energy Park remains at a very early stage of development and is classified as a Development of National Significance (DNS). As a result, it would be handled by Welsh Government planning inspectors at PEDW (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales), who would put forward a recommendation to be formally announced by a Welsh Government cabinet secretary.
