Minister visits turbines for onshore wind push
BBCA minister has vowed to "break down barriers" to new onshore wind farms in the week Labour launched its onshore wind strategy.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Michael Shanks visited Westmill Wind Farm in Watchfield, on the Oxfordshire-Wiltshire border near Swindon, to talk to those involved with, and who have benefitted from, the project.
The farm has five turbines and was commissioned in 2008. It claims to be the first 100% community-owned onshore wind farm built in the south of England but owners say it took more than 15 years to get planning approval.
The government said its strategy for easing planning rules was crucial to achieving clean power targets by 2030.
Shortly after being elected to power in 2024, Labour lifted the ban on onshore windfarms implemented by David Cameron's Conservative government in 2015.
The Onshore Wind Strategy represents the government's next step in promoting the industry, with emphasis being placed on improving the planning system and including communities in the process.
'Millions of pages of planning'
Shanks said onshore wind had many benefits including unlocking "skills and investment and supply chain jobs right across the country", as well as helping to meet the government's green targets.
"We've already announced, in the [upcoming] Planning and Infrastructure Bill, reforms to how the planning system works, but the action plan we're announcing on onshore wind is also about breaking down all of those barriers," he added.
"This isn't about saying local communities shouldn't have a voice in the process.
"That is really important, but it is about saying it shouldn't take years and millions of pages of planning applications to get projects delivered."
The strategy was "greatly welcomed" by Mark Luntley, chair of Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative, during the visit, who agreed that community buy-in was crucial for the acceptance of similar projects.
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