A wind farm planned for land on a former airfield between Graveley, Offord D’Arcy, Toseland and Great Paxton has been refused planning permission by the planning committee at Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC). Councillors voted against the application, which was recommended for refusal by the Planning Officer.  The decision was made at the council’s planning committee meeting held in St Ives in November.
 
RWE npower renewables’ Principal Developer Matt Pinfield said, "We are disappointed that HDC councillors didn't take this opportunity to make a positive decision and act in support of renewable energy.  This is not the end of the line for us and we stand behind what we believe is a good, well-located wind farm scheme.
 
"Cotton Wind Farm would generate enough clean energy for thousands of homes each year and if we are to meet Government targets for renewable energy then it is imperative that onshore wind farms such as this are built.
 
“We will now look at our next steps to decide how to progress the planning application and make this wind farm a reality. We would like to thank everyone who has supported the wind farm up to this point."

The planning application for Cotton Wind Farm was accompanied by an Environmental Statement document, which details the various environmental studies undertaken for the project, covering all aspects of the proposal, from noise levels to wildlife. A non-technical summary of the Environmental Statement, which is a shorter document containing the key findings of the various environmental reports, is available to download. Please click the link on the right.

The complete Environmental Statement (ES) can be viewed on the Huntingdonshire District Council website. You will need the reference number to find the application. The reference number is 0802296FUL.

A hard copy of the complete ES is also available from RWE npower renewables, although a contribution to printing costs of £80.00 will be charged. If you would like to purchase a paper copy of the ES, please send a cheque payable to RWE Npower Renewables Ltd to the East of England office at the address below.

The ES is also available electronically on a CD from RWE npower renewables free of charge. If you would like to be sent a CD please contact the East of England office.

Notes
1. Based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4700 kWh, which is derived from a total UK domestic electricity consumption of 117.589 terawatt-hours (TWh) and 25.2 million UK households giving 4,666 kWh per year per household. UK energy consumption is as stated for 2004 in The Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2005 The number of UK households is as stated for 2003 in the Mid-year Household Estimates published in 2004 by the Office for National Statistics.
 
The energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived from monitoring wind speeds in the area and correlating this data to wind speeds measured at Met. Office stations. This enables a calculation to be made to estimate the average annual energy production for the site based on 8 turbines each of rated capacity of between 2.0 and 3 MW. The energy capture and equivalent homes figure relating to this project may change as more information is gathered.