Revitalizing Wind Energy: England's Onshore Wind Farms Set for a Comeback

What is the effect of the changes to NPPF? 

Footnote 58 of NPPF (and its predecessor footnote 54) imposed a “de facto ban” on wind farms by directing that wind farm development “should not be considered acceptable” unless it was located in areas allocated in local development plan documents and unless “community support” for the proposals could be demonstrated. A similar provision was (more recently) imposed in respect of making local development orders for wind farm development under footnote 57. 

Those tests were virtually impossible to satisfy with local authorities having no incentive to allocate sites for wind development (let alone those that were viable and capable of development). Similarly satisfying a “community support” test set an extremely high bar for wind farm development and its subjective interpretation provided amply leeway for the local planning authority to refuse applications. Taken together the footnote has resulted in almost no new wind farms being consented since the policy came into effect. 

By confirming that this policy “no longer applies”, the policy position for determining wind farm development under NPPF is effectively now the same as for other forms of renewables development. 

Is this a game changer for onshore wind in England? 

Potentially. Favourable planning policy is plainly an important aspect for developers in identifying sites for wind farm development. However it is not the only factor. For example, developers will still need to identify sites that have the right characteristics to generate enough electricity from wind turbines and that have access to a suitable grid connection. To that end it is far from certain that the potential for wind farm development in England is comparable to the scale of development that we have seen in Scotland (and in parts of mainland Europe) in recent years. 

Ultimately there will still need to be a robust planning process and requirement for developers to demonstrate that their proposal is acceptable (in the same way as any other development). Today’s announcement does not remove those requirements. Rather it simply starts the process of removing punitive policy measures that have long singled out onshore wind as an unacceptable form of energy development. 

It also rmains to be seen whether planning authorities who are “anti-wind farm development” will adopt a different approach to decision-making as a consequence of the policy. Or instead find other reasons for refusal within the current policy framework. Although even in that scenario there will be an opportunity to appeal to central Government. Each proposal will need to be considered on its own merits but, in light of today’s policy changes and soundings by Labour during the election campaign, one might expect that the consent rate on appeal will be relatively positive.   

A number of developers were already in the process of identifying English sites for wind farm development in anticipation of Labour winning the election and relaxing planning policy. Today’s announcement provides concrete support to this effect and is likely to trigger increased competition for land in England that has potential for wind farm development. We can expect a significant uptick in planning applications for wind farm development as a consequence. 

What else is required to unlock new wind farm development in England?

The changes to NPPF (alone) do not have the effect of putting onshore wind on a level playing field with other forms of renewables infrastructure. 

As things stand, onshore wind farms are still banned from applying for a development consent order – the process of obtaining consent from central government rather than local planning authorities for larger scale energy generation. To date (reflective of the interim ban) only two wind farms benefit from development consent under the Planning Act 2008 -  Brechfa Forest West and Clocaenog Forest. Eversheds Sutherland were instructed to promote both of those applications and look forward to seeing the detail of Labour’s plans to consult on the reinstatement of onshore wind farms within the NSIP regime. Unlike the removal of footnotes 57 and 58, this will require legislative changes to delete the onshore wind exclusion under the Planning Act 2008. 

A key question will be the scale of development that triggers the requirement for development consent. Whilst a decision by central Government may improve prospects, applying for development is a burdensome and time consuming process and may be disproportionate to the relative rewards of smaller scale proposals. We have already experienced this issue with solar farms where the 50MW threshold for requiring development consent has prompted many 49.9MW planning applications to the local planning authority. 

Wind farms are also still excluded from national policy statements on energy that provide a strong presumption in favour of development. We can expect that to change if Labour delivers on its proposal to bring onshore wind back within the development consent order regime. 

There remain no formal national targets for onshore wind farms in England. Labour has already stated that it is “committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030”. However factoring in the time to identify suitable sites, secure consent and build out proposals (and obtain a grid connection) commitments beyond 2030 are required. 

It is also notable that Labour intend to revisit community benefit guidance. So it remains to be seen whether the trade off for relaxations in planning policy will be a greater expectation from Government in terms of the level of support in community benefit packages. Whilst technically this is “at arms length” from the planning process, there is clearly a potential interface between the level of objection to a wind farm and community benefits. This will require careful thought so as to ensure that proposals are viable and that developers remain incentivised to explore new opportunities as a consequence of the changes in planning policy. 

Applications for wind farm development will also not be immune from the resourcing challenges that have plagued the speed and quality of other planning decisions in recent years.

Nonetheless, the Government’s announcements represent very positive signs for onshore wind developers in England.