Council Meeting, 29 February 2012

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
All Councillors are summoned to an Extra Ordinary Meeting of Helmdon Parish Council to be held in the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon on Wednesday 29th February 2012 commencing at 7.30 pm.
Members of the public and Press are invited to attend and to participate in the Open Forum
1. Apologies for Absence
2. Declarations of Interest
3. Open Forum
4. To be considered:
Application: S/2011/1437/MAF
Location: Spring Farm Ridge, land to the north of Welsh Lane between Greatworth &
Helmdon
Proposal: Wind farm comprising the erection of five wind turbines plus underground cabling, meteorological mast, access tracks, control building, temporary site compound and ancillary development (Includes Environmental Statement)
Re-consultation regarding additional submitted material
5. Councillors’ Questions
Signed _______________________
Dated________________________
Liz Hart, Parish Clerk
[address removed]

11/ 47
HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
Draft Minutes of the Extra-Ordinary meeting of Helmdon Parish Council held on
Wed. 29th February 2012 in the Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon at 7:30pm
Present: Councillors Burns, Barnes, England, Coatsworth, Moody, Adhemar, Garner, Simpson
Parish Clerk: Liz Hart, 1 member of the public was present.
Action
1 Apologies for Absence
Cllr Duncombe had given apologies due to being away which were accepted by the meeting.
2 Declarations of Interest
None.
3 Open Forum
No issues raised.
4 To be considered:
Application: S/2011/1437/MAF
Location: Spring Farm Ridge, land north of Welsh Lane between Greatworth & Helmdon
Proposal: Wind farm comprising the erection of five wind turbines plus underground cabling, meteorological mast, access tracks, control building, temporary site compound and ancillary development (Includes Environmental Statement)
Re-consultation regarding additional submitted material
It was resolved to OBJECT to the application as follows:
Helmdon Parish Council has reviewed the additional documentation submitted in February by
Broadview Energy Limited and would comment as follows:
The Parish Council finds nothing in the documentation which causes its concerns to be assuaged and therefore would continue to OBJECT to the application.
Although Broadview Energy Ltd maintain that the re-positioning of the wind turbines is simply part of the iterative planning process, after reviewing the documentation, the Parish Council considers that the changes made are actually so significant that the amended proposal should actually constitute a new application and be treated accordingly. The Councillors have reviewed the additional documentation but would comment that it was of such a large volume (hundreds of pages) that detailed examination to the extent that they would have wished was not possible in the time available.
From the documentation submitted, the Parish Council would further comment that:
The repositioning of the turbines has done nothing to improve the amenity of the impacted area, both in the case of the rights of way users and of some of those living in the vicinity, particularly
Stuchbury where the nearest turbine is now closer than previously. The Parish Council is dismayed to gain the impression from the documentation submitted that because
Northamptonshire does not have the protection afforded by designated Areas of Outstanding
Beauty and National Park status that the developer appears to consider that it is acceptable to view the intimate landscape of the local area in the same way as the more industrial areas in the north of the county. The documentation glosses over significant issues and maintains that a Wind
Farm would be acceptable in this area; the Parish Council is not of this opinion.
6 Councillors’ Questions
None.
The meeting closed at 9:50 pm