A 122-metre meteorological mast will be installed in Carmarthenshire, near the Brechfa Forest, where a large wind farm is proposed. Councillors unanimously approved the plan despite objections from local residents.
Mast to be removed within five years
The mast, located west of Llansawel, will collect data for a wind farm called Glyn Cothi, proposed by Welsh Government-owned renewable energy developer Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru. Under the planning consent granted by the county council, the mast must be removed and the ground restored within five years of becoming operational, or earlier if no longer needed for wind monitoring.
At a planning committee meeting, council planning officer John Thomas said the lattice mast would be “quite inconspicuous in the landscape” and that bird diverters would be added to its supporting guy wires.
Objections and consultee responses
Twenty objections were submitted, with concerns about the impact on tourism, the local landscape, and television and radio reception. Worries were also raised about the potential impact of a subsequent wind farm development.
Statutory consultees, including the Ministry of Defence and an air navigation specialist body, did not object. Mr Thomas said any future wind farm was not relevant to the application, stating: “We are clearly looking at a meteorological mast, not any future wind turbine development.”
Glyn Cothi wind farm plans
Feasibility work for the Glyn Cothi wind farm has indicated it could accommodate up to 27 turbines, mostly sited within the Brechfa Forest. A planning application is expected to be submitted to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales next year.
Councillor Russell Sparks welcomed the “extensive list” of consultees for the mast application, submitted by Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, and proposed that the committee support it. He said data recorded by the mast would ensure any future wind turbine decision would be based on hard fact, science and data “in a world where we don’t always have as much facts as we would like”. Installing the mast is expected to take around five days. The committee’s approval was unanimous.
