DETAILS of the timetable for a public inquiry into appeals by developers seeking to build two windfarms in West Norfolk were thrashed out at a pre-inquiry hearing this week.
Renewable Energy Systems (RES) UK and Ireland is appealing against West Norfolk Council’s refusal to grant planning permission to build six 415ft turbines on a 494-acre site at Jack’s Lane, Barwick, near Stanhoe.
And electricity company E.On is appealing the council’s refusal of permission to build five 328ft turbines on land at Chiplow, near Syderstone, about four miles away.
Government-appointed planning inspector Robert Mellor told representatives of the borough council, the two appellants and local campaign groups Creakes Action for Protecting the Environment (CAPE) and Against Turbines At Chiplow (ATAC) that he had set aside 16 days over four weeks, starting on January 31, 2012, at 10am, for the hearings.
At present, the inquiry is expected to take place at Lynnsport in Lynn, but borough council representative Alexander Booth said efforts were being made to try and find a suitable venue closer to the town centre.
At Wednesday’s meeting at Lynnsport, it was agreed that brief opening submissions from all parties and requests from individuals wanting to address the inquiry would be heard on the first day.
Topics to be considered subsequently include landscape and visual impact, noise, nature conservation, cultural heritage, and planning policy and the benefits of wind energy, in that order.