Forthbank Wind Energy Development - Partnerships for Renewables

Forthbank Wind Energy Development
5.4.20 Policy ENV14: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Development provides that the
Councils will, in the interests of sustainable development, support developments required for
the generation of energy from renewable sources subject to conformity with other relevant
Structure and Local Plan policies.
5.4.21 Policy ENV16: Wind Energy provides that individual proposals for wind energy development
will be assessed against four key principles, namely:
1. A presumption against development in areas shown on the Structure Plan
Renewable Supplementary Key Diagram as “Exclusion Areas” to safeguard areas of
overriding landscape character, built heritage and natural heritage resources.
2. Other areas outwith the “Exclusion Area” are within an “Area of Search”.
3. Within the “Area of Search” and “Exclusion Area”, the Local Plan should set out
detailed policy considerations.
4. The relationship of new proposals to established and approved developments and
those that are currently the subject of undetermined applications. Proposals will not
normally be acceptable where they would result in an adverse effect upon amenity,
or features of scenic and/or heritage value, by reason of cumulative visual impact.
5.4.22 The accompanying text to Policy ENV16 states that the Policy has been prepared taking
account of national guidance in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 6: Renewable
Energy (2000) and Planning Advice Note (PAN) 45: Renewable Energy Technologies (2002),
the strategic locational guidance on onshore wind farms produced by SNH and local technical
and environmental factors. It is noted that NPPG 6 no longer represents the most recent
expression of Scottish Government planning policy on renewable energy and has been
replaced by SPP (as discussed above).
Clackmannanshire Local Plan
5.4.23 The Local Plan provides a strategy at a local level for development in Clackmannanshire. The
policies within the Local Plan focus primarily on the allocation of housing land and have little
detail in relation to the development of renewable energy, instead relying upon the policies
contained in the Structure Plan itself. The Structure Plan thus provides the main Development
Plan policy framework on renewable energy and wind farm developments.
5.4.24 The aim of the Local Plan is to work towards sustainable development in Clackmannanshire
through a local land use framework that facilitates positive social and economic development
whilst maintaining and enhancing environmental quality.
Nature Conservation
5.4.25 The Local Plan nature conservation policies rely on the policies of the Structure Plan for the
protection of sites of international and national importance and instead place greater emphasis
on the protection of sites of local ecological importance.
November 2010 Chapter 5 Page 9
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