environmental statement - Rotherham's Online Application for ...

PLANNING DESIGNATIONS
6.99 All relevant landscape and national heritage designations are illustrated in
Figure 6.2.
National / Regional Landscape Designations
6.100 There are no national or regional landscape designations covering the site
or in close proximity to the site. The nearest National Park is the Peak
District National Park (approximately 19km to the west of the site).
Local Landscape Designations
Greenbelt
6.101 Much of the undeveloped part of the 20km radius study area including the
development site is designated Green Belt. Notably this includes the
entirety of the undeveloped land in the Rotherham borough area.
6.102 In this regard a recent appeal decision relating to a wind farm in green belt
is of relevance to consideration of this application (namely Appeal
Reference APP/D2320/A/08/2069152 Cliff Farm, Wood Lane, Mawdesley,
Ormskirk L40 2RL).
6.103 In the above appeal, the Planning Inspector determined that whilst the
turbines would affect the openness of the Green Belt and would therefore
fall within the definition of „inappropriate development‟ in PPG 2, he did not
consider the loss of openness to be „anything but very modest in scale.‟
The inspector concludes that „the areas of land to be built upon are small
in size and have to be seen in the context of a large uninterrupted expanse
of open land‟.
6.104 The inspector concludes that the valuable contribution that the turbines
would make to meeting the challenging target for the production of energy
from renewable sources represents „the very special circumstances
required to outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness, some
limited impact on the Green Belt openness and a small encroachment on
the countryside.‟
6.105 It is also noted that the Loscar wind farm which has recently been
approved is within the same Green Belt as the Penny Hill site.
Area of High Landscape Value
6.106 The Rotherham Metropolitan Borough UDP 1999, (Saved Policies 2007)
defines five Areas of High Landscape Value (AHLV) within the Borough.
The entire development site is located within the Ulley – Whiston AHLV.
70
Penny Hill Wind Farm
Environmental Statement