Wind Farms & Energy
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We support the principle of generating renewable energy from the wind, the sun and the sea to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But whilst wind turbines can be beneficial in capturing CO2 free energy from wind, they are also a threat to the countryside and to the amenity and enjoyment of those who live in it.
We believe that the location and scale of wind turbines are key factors which planners and developers should take into account. We want to see a planning system which follows rigorous procedures for siting wind turbines in areas of least landscape impact.
Because they rely on wind turbines should firstly only be built where there is sufficient wind blowing constantly enough to justify the inevitable harm turbines cause. In practise wind turbine development is not appropriate in central inland counties like Oxfordshire, where wind strengths are low and fickle.
Even where wind strength is sufficient, they should not be sited where they would harm the countryside, not just Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but all landscapes valued by local communities. Increasingly too Inspectors are determining on appeal that wind turbines are inappropriate development in Green Belts, a view we strongly support.
The amenity of local residents should not be damaged by siting of turbines so close to homes that they would be overwhelmed both visually and by noise intrusion – in Scotland, which has more experience of the impact of turbines the guideline distance is two kilometres.
The setting of listed and historic buildings and parks and gardens, with which Oxfordshire is particularly well-endowed, not least within the historic City itself, and views towards and from them, should not be blighted by turbines which are acknowledged to be prominent and intrusive at distances of up to fifteen kilometres (ten miles).
All new transmission lines needed to connect wind turbines should be buried underground or underwater to reduce landscape impacts.
In order to serve their purpose in providing renewable energy turbines clearly have to be somewhere – but that does not mean they have to be everywhere. Government targets can and should be met without unnecessarily harming treasured landscapes, heritage and amenity.
We would like to see a greater emphasis given to offshore wind, where winds are stronger and more reliable and energy production is consequently more efficient, providing the onshore sub-stations and transmission infrastructure are carefully designed and located.
Too often turbine development is undertaken through sheer tokenism, waving the green flag in reckless disregard of the real environmental damage being done. The future of the countryside and of England's heritage is too precious to be at the mercy of gesture politics.
Solar Farms
In the light of the many applications being submitted for solar farms in the county, in April 2011, CPRE Oxfordshire produced a branch Policy Briefing Paper and Branch Policy Statement on solar farms to assist the branch and districts in responding to planning applications.
An Addendum was added to the Policy Briefing Paper in June, to take into account the Government's review of the Feed in Tarrifs (FITs).
See: the CPRE Oxon BRIEFING PAPER - SOLAR FARMS April 2011 and Addendum June 2011.pdf.
See: the CPRE Oxon Solar farms policy 01 04 11.pdf.
Find Out More
Below are a list of links to further information regarding this campaign: