11/00713/F - Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk

POLICY CONTEXT
PPS22 ‘Renewable Energy’ was published in August 2004. It is the principal national
guideline for the determination of application for renewable energy projects. The PPS
comments that the then Government had previously set a target to generate 10% of UK
electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010.
The latest Revised Draft Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1), which
was published for consultation in October 2010 along with other documents in the suite of
National Policy Statements (NPS) on Energy, reflects the current government’s commitment
to source 15% of the UK’s total energy from renewable sources by 2020 (the commitment is
given in ‘The UK Renewable Energy Strategy’, DECC, 2009).
To achieve this goal, PPS22 sets out various key principles to which local planning
authorities should adhere in setting their approach on renewable energy, as follows:-
a) Renewable energy developments should be capable of being accommodated throughout
England in locations where the technology is viable and environmental, economic and social
impacts can be addressed satisfactorily.
b) Local development documents should contain policies designed to promote the
development of renewable energy resources.
c) At the local level planning authorities should set out the criteria that will be applied in
assessing application for renewable energy projects.
d) The wider environmental and economic benefits of all proposals for renewable energy
project, whatever their scale, are material considerations that should be given significant
weight.
e) No assumption should be made about the technical and commercial feasibility of
renewable energy products.
f) Small-scale projects can provide a limited but valuable contribution to overall outputs of
renewable energy.
g) Community involvement in renewable energy projects should be fostered.
h) Development proposals should demonstrate any environmental and social impacts have
been minimised.
The Companion Guide to PPS22 sets out technical detail on how local planning authorities
should assess such proposals. Chapter 8 sets out particular guidance on proposals for wind
energy. Guidance is provided on:-
� Other infrastructure (para 18)
� Access and site roads (paras 21-23)
� Connections to the electricity grid (paras 25-26)
� Noise (paras 41-46)
� Landscape and visual impact (para 47 and section 3, 4 and 5 of the Companion
Guide)
� Ecology and ornithology (para 58-63)
� Shadow flicker and reflected light (para 73-78)
� Construction and operational disturbance (para 81-83)
10/01419/FM Development Control Board
25 July 2011
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