Post by admin on Sept 1, 2006 22:13:03 GMT 1
Windfarm fight ends in defeat
ONE man’s fight to save Rossendale’s moorland from a 26-turbine windfarm has ended in defeat.
Businessman and solicitor Edward Smethurst single-handedly launched a judicial review in June to halt plans to build the £50M windfarm on Scout and Knowl Moors.
But in the ‘David and Goliath’ battle to save the moorland, the Government has responded by introducing new legislation which effectively thwarts his challenge.
The plans got the green light from former Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight in May, despite more than two years of fierce opposition from councils, MPs and hundreds of residents.
Mr Smethurst, who owns four farms in the area affected, lodged the legal challenge against both the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and developers Peel Holdings Ltd.
The challenge was based on local farmers’ property rights to the 7.41km of land between Rochdale, where Mr Smethurst lives in Norden, and Edenfield.
The whole area is common land, which is historically protected as open space.
Peel proposes to offer alternative land in exchange for the common land where it will erect the turbines, but Mr Smethurst, who is chairman of the Law Society, Commerce and Industry Group in the North West, had barristers’ advice that this was an infringement for which Defra had no statutory power.
But a new law included in The Commons Act 2006, approved in July, gives Defra new powers to overturn the objections raised by Mr Smethurst’s challenge, and forcibly remove his and other farmers’ property rights.
Mr Smethurst said this week: ‘Launching the challenge as a private individual was an expensive and risky step for me to take, but permanently protecting Scout and Knowl Moor would have made the high cost worthwhile.
‘But with this new Act, the best I could achieve is to delay the project because the developers would have to re-apply under the new law.
‘It regrettably appears to be crystal clear that both Defra and the Government are very strongly pushing for such windfarms to proceed.’
Mr Smethurst instead plans to make a substantial donation to pressure group the Friends of Scout and Knowl Moor.
Rossendale’s MP Janet Anderson, who had given Mr Smethurst her full backing, said: ‘I am extremely disappointed at this news, I had no idea that this new legislation would have this effect. I will be making urgent inquiries with the new Rural Affairs Minister to see whether Defra is aware of these implications.’
Deborah Lewis
First published by the Rossendale Free Press
www.therossendalefreepress.co.uk
ONE man’s fight to save Rossendale’s moorland from a 26-turbine windfarm has ended in defeat.
Businessman and solicitor Edward Smethurst single-handedly launched a judicial review in June to halt plans to build the £50M windfarm on Scout and Knowl Moors.
But in the ‘David and Goliath’ battle to save the moorland, the Government has responded by introducing new legislation which effectively thwarts his challenge.
The plans got the green light from former Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight in May, despite more than two years of fierce opposition from councils, MPs and hundreds of residents.
Mr Smethurst, who owns four farms in the area affected, lodged the legal challenge against both the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and developers Peel Holdings Ltd.
The challenge was based on local farmers’ property rights to the 7.41km of land between Rochdale, where Mr Smethurst lives in Norden, and Edenfield.
The whole area is common land, which is historically protected as open space.
Peel proposes to offer alternative land in exchange for the common land where it will erect the turbines, but Mr Smethurst, who is chairman of the Law Society, Commerce and Industry Group in the North West, had barristers’ advice that this was an infringement for which Defra had no statutory power.
But a new law included in The Commons Act 2006, approved in July, gives Defra new powers to overturn the objections raised by Mr Smethurst’s challenge, and forcibly remove his and other farmers’ property rights.
Mr Smethurst said this week: ‘Launching the challenge as a private individual was an expensive and risky step for me to take, but permanently protecting Scout and Knowl Moor would have made the high cost worthwhile.
‘But with this new Act, the best I could achieve is to delay the project because the developers would have to re-apply under the new law.
‘It regrettably appears to be crystal clear that both Defra and the Government are very strongly pushing for such windfarms to proceed.’
Mr Smethurst instead plans to make a substantial donation to pressure group the Friends of Scout and Knowl Moor.
Rossendale’s MP Janet Anderson, who had given Mr Smethurst her full backing, said: ‘I am extremely disappointed at this news, I had no idea that this new legislation would have this effect. I will be making urgent inquiries with the new Rural Affairs Minister to see whether Defra is aware of these implications.’
Deborah Lewis
First published by the Rossendale Free Press
www.therossendalefreepress.co.uk