Winwick Wind Farm Planning Documents. Statement of Community Involvement May 2010

Transcription

1 Winwick Wind Farm Planning Documents Statement of Community Involvement

2 E.ON Climate and Renewables (EC&R) Winwick Wind Farm Statement of Community Involvement Entec UK Limited

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5 Copyright and Non-Disclosure Notice The contents and layout of this report are subject to copyright owned by Entec ( 2010) save to the extent that copyright has been legally assigned by us to another party or is used by Entec under licence. To the extent that we own the copyright in this report, it may not be copied or used without our prior written agreement for any purpose other than the purpose indicated in this report. The methodology (if any) contained in this report is provided to you in confidence and must not be disclosed or copied to third parties without the prior written agreement of Entec. Disclosure of that information may constitute an actionable breach of confidence or may otherwise prejudice our commercial interests. Any third party who obtains access to this report by any means will, in any event, be subject to the Third Party Disclaimer set out below. Third Party Disclaimer Any disclosure of this report to a third party is subject to this disclaimer. The report was prepared by Entec at the instruction of, and for use by, our client named on the front of the report. It does not in any way constitute advice to any third party who is able to access it by any means. Entec excludes to the fullest extent lawfully permitted all liability whatsoever for any loss or damage howsoever arising from reliance on the contents of this report. We do not however exclude our liability (if any) for personal injury or death resulting from our negligence, for fraud or any other matter in relation to which we cannot legally exclude liability. Document Revisions No. Details Date 0 Draft March Final Draft March Final May 2010

6 i Contents 1. Purpose of this statement 1 2. The planning application Planning application The applicant Development proposals 4 3. Planning policy overview 5 4. Methodology Introduction Design development Programme Stakeholders consulted Approach to consultation Pre-application consultation Consultation website Public exhibitions, November Post exhibition follow-up Public tours of Stag's Holt Wind Farm, November 2009 and April Information days for access route, February Community newsletter, March Conclusions 19 Table 4.1 List of Stakeholders and Consultees 10 Table 4.2 Programme of consultation 11 Figure 5.1 Winwick wind farm website 14 Figure 5.2 Comments from public exhibitions, November

7 ii Appendix A November 2009 public exhibition publicity material Appendix B November 2009 public exhibition boards Appendix C February 2010 information days for proposed access route Appendix D March 2010 community newsletter

8 1 1. Purpose of this statement This document is the consultation statement in support of a planning application for full planning permission for a renewable energy development comprising seven horizontal axis wind turbines centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) E N adjacent to Winwick Warren Farm in Northamptonshire. Throughout this document, the wind farm shall be referred to as the proposed Winwick Wind Farm The planning application is submitted by E.ON Climate and Renewables (EC&R). The consultation statement has been prepared by Entec UK Ltd on behalf of EC&R and provides detailed information regarding the pre-application consultation which has been undertaken The consultation statement provides a summary review of the main stages of consultation undertaken with statutory and non-statutory consultees in advance of the submission of the planning application. It shows that consultation and community involvement has been considered as an important element in the process for bringing forward the proposed Winwick Wind Farm. Furthermore, this consultation statement considers the main issues arising from the consultation exercise undertaken.

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10 3 2. The planning application 2.1 Planning application The planning application is being submitted to Daventry District Council (DDC) as the Local Planning Authority (LPA) for the development site The planning application is submitted with a Design and Access Statement, Planning Statement and an Environmental Statement (ES) to enable the LPA, statutory consultees, other interested parties and local residents to make informed comments and decisions about the proposed Winwick Wind Farm The planning application drawings are provided in Volume 2 of the Environmental Statement. 2.2 The applicant The applicant, E.ON Climate and Renewables (EC&R) is a world wide business responsible for the E.ON Group s global renewable energy generation and climate protection activities EC&R is responsible for E.ON s global renewables and climate protection activities. They are investing 8 billion in renewable generation and climate protection projects from 2007 to 2011 and will play a leading role in the development of the renewables industry worldwide Engaging with everyone who is involved with and affected by their renewables sites is a fundamental and integral part of EC&R s development process. They aim to build strong relationships with key stakeholders and forge strong community ties from an early stage of development through the implementation of a rigorous and thorough process of consultation and engagement EC&R have a dedicated stakeholder engagement team based in Coventry that works closely with EC&R project developers to deliver a thorough process of informing, engaging and consulting with all interested and affected parties. Their approach is to be clear on who the key stakeholders are, so that they can develop and identify appropriate engagement channels and approaches, tailoring a comprehensive stakeholder engagement plan to an individual development site, ensuring that they are able to listen and act on comments from stakeholders throughout the process and reflect this in their planning submission EC&R look to build trust and respect with stakeholders and always adopt an open and honest approach and pride themselves on being a responsible developer. They use a variety of communication methods to keep their stakeholders informed. These include:

11 4 Holding public exhibitions that give people the opportunity to see development proposals, discuss them and provide their views and input into shaping the proposals; Holding workshops to allow further discussions on their proposals and provide the opportunity for stakeholders to make suggestions on the site layout; Producing newsletters to keep people informed on progress of a proposed development; Providing visits to operational EC&R wind farms to allow people to experience a wind farm site and help dispel some of the myths that exist; Helping to educate young people on renewable energy by providing presentations at school or universities and sponsoring education programmes; Investing in local communities by supporting local events; Providing dedicated web sites and addresses for projects on which people can track project progress, contact EC&R or demonstrate their support; Working with the local media to help keep people informed; and Aiming to be a good neighbour by contributing to the local community, bringing local benefits and integrating and enhancing the local community and environment. 2.3 Development proposals The proposed Winwick Wind Farm site is centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) E N adjacent to Winwick Warren Farm in Northamptonshire. The development is situated in relative isolation, with the closest villages being Winwick, located approximately 1km from the turbines, and Cold Ashby, located approximately 1.6km from the turbines. Rugby is over 10km to the west of the development site boundary, and Daventry is over 12km to the south west of the development site boundary The planning application is for: A wind energy development comprising of the erection, 25 year operation and subsequent decommissioning of seven wind turbines with a maximum blade to tip height of 126.5m and up to 50m micrositing, together with a new vehicular access, on-site-access tracks, hard standing areas, control building and cabling, and a permanent anemometer mast, on land adjacent to Winwick Warren Farm at National Grid Reference E N The proposed Winwick Wind Farm will be designed with an operational life of 25 years at the end of which it will be decommissioned The proposed location of the wind farm is shown at Figure 1.2, ES Volume 2 and the layout of the proposed Winwick Wind Farm at Figure 3.1, ES Volume 2.

12 5 3. Planning policy overview The Government s reform of the planning system in England and Wales, introduced through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, places an increased emphasis on the importance of public consultation and community involvement in the planning and development process. Planning policy statement 1: delivering sustainable development (2005) The purpose of this planning policy statement is to set out the overarching policies for the delivery of sustainable development through the planning system PPS 1 (paragraph 11) states: More effective community involvement is a key element of the Government s planning reforms The Statement (paragraph 12) adds: - Pre-application discussions are critically important and benefit both developers and local planning authorities in ensuring a better mutual understanding of objectives and the constraints that exist. In the course of such discussions proposals can be adapted to ensure that they better reflect community aspirations and that applications are complete and address all relevant issues. Local planning authorities and applicants should take a positive attitude towards early engagement in pre-application discussions so that formal applications can be dealt with in a more certain and speedy manner and the quality of decisions can be better assured The Statement also advises that community involvement and consultation is a critical means of achieving sustainable development Paragraph 41 states: - Local communities should be given the opportunity to participate fully in the process for drawing up specific plans or policies and to be consulted on proposals for development. Community involvement in planning: the Government s objectives (2004) This paper sets out the Government's general objectives for community involvement in planning to provide the context for the changes being made to the way that the planning system operates at national, regional and local levels The paper is intended to be used as a means for providing the context within which wider changes to the public consultation process are brought forward through the replacement of Planning Policy Guidance notes with Planning Policy Statements. However, this guide is not intended to replace specific guidance provided within Planning Policy Statements.

13 In this guidance, further advice is provided on the principles and best practice approach to public consultation and the involvement of interested parties. This guidance re-affirms the importance of pre-application consultation on major planning applications. Daventry statement of community involvement In line with the wider changes made to the planning system, introduced by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, 2004, Daventry District Council has prepared a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) The SCI is intended to guide the way in which the public will be involved with all aspects of the planning process, with particular focus on the preparation of policy documents. However, guidance is also provided on the role of consultation in the submission of planning applications Paragraph 9.1 of the SCI advises: The Statement of Community Involvement is required to set out the council s policy for consulting the community on planning applications. It also encourages developers to undertake pre- application discussions and early community consultation on significant applications. The aim of the process should be to encourage discussions before a formal application is made and therefore to avoid unnecessary objections being made at a later stage. Developers are encouraged to work with the local community, paragraph 9.28 of the SCI states: Paragraph 9.28 states The Council considers that developers have a key role to play in engaging with local communities and helping them to understand what is proposed, listening to concerns and engaging in dialogue to seek to resolve these. Where the thresholds in paragraph 9.32 are met the Council will request a Community Involvement Exercise is carried out. However a Community Involvement Exercise (CIE) is not a mandatory requirement when submitting a planning application but the Council sincerely believes that genuine engagement with the surrounding community before the submission of a formal application can be beneficial for all those involved. The thresholds within paragraph 9.32 require developers of all major infrastructure projects to have undertaken a community involvement exercise Daventry District Council encourages community involvement, and the SCI recommends a process for consultation in Paragraph 9.30: Community Involvement is the process of: a) Explaining proposals to parish councils, residents, workers and users of the area around the site of the proposed development; b) Requesting the views of people in the community, including parish councils; c) Considering those views; d) Where appropriate, amending the proposals to take the views of the community into account.

14 Paragraph 9.31 of the SCI sets out the benefits of early consultation: The Council considers that a genuine CIE can: a) Provide an ideal opportunity for an explanation of proposals before minds are made up on the basis of possibly inaccurate information; b) Save time in obtaining a decision on a planning application; c) Produce more certainty about the outcome; d) Create a more sustainable, high quality designed and acceptable development; e) Avoid appeals and call-in procedures.

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16 9 4. Methodology 4.1 Introduction Once the proposals for the proposed Winwick Wind Farm site were sufficiently developed for the purposes of meaningful engagement. EC&R commenced a process of pre-application consultation with various stakeholders and formal scoping with Daventry District Council. 4.2 Design development EC&R have undertaken extensive discussions with statutory and non-statutory consultees, the local community and landowners with the accumulated findings all having an influence over the design of the proposed Winwick Wind Farm The final layout for the proposed Winwick Wind Farm has evolved from a combination of engineering requirements, environmental constraints and stakeholder consultation to create a design solution which balances the overall environmental, social and economic effects Table 4.1 below provides a list (not exclusive) of these stakeholders and consultees.

17 10 Table 4.1 List of stakeholders and consultees Stakeholders and consultees British Horse Society Civil Aviation Authority Cold Ashby Golf Club Daventry District Council Defence Estates East Midlands Regional Assembly English Heritage Environment Agency Highways Agency Local Parish Councils Local residents of nearby villages including Cold Ashby, Coton, Elkington, Guilsborough, Thornby, West Haddon, Winwick and Yelvertoft National Air Traffic Services Natural England Northamptonshire County Archaeological Advisor Northamptonshire County Council Highways Department Northamptonshire County Council Public Rights of Way Officer Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust Northants Badger Group Northants Bat Group Ramblers Association Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Rugby Borough Council Warwickshire County Council 4.3 Programme A number of different exhibitions and meetings were held from an early stage in the project and throughout the design process. Table 4.2 outlines the programme of the consultation. Further details of the consultation activities are provided in Chapter 5.

18 11 Table 4.2 Programme of consultation Date Event and or / meeting Ongoing activities Individual meetings, site briefings, discussions and written correspondence with: Parish Councils Landowner Local residents April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 September/October 2009 A request for a formal scoping opinion was sought from Daventry District Council. Website established at Presentation to Winwick parish council Invites distributed to around 1,450 households in the area, together with posters and adverts to publicise the November 2009 public exhibitions and the next trip to Stag s Holt 4 th November 2009 Public visit to an operational wind farm, Stag s Holt wind farm near March, Cambridgeshire 10 th November 2009 Public Exhibition held at West Haddon Village Hall 11 th November 2009 Public Exhibition held at Cold Ashby Memorial Hall 15 th February 2010 Information day for the proposed access route held at Thornby Village Hall 16 th February 2010 Information day for the proposed access route held at Guilsborough Village Hall 24 th March 2010 Newsletter distributed to around 1,450 households in the area detailing information on the key issues at the public exhibitions and responses and the next trip to Stag s Holt 20 th April 2010 Public visit to an operational wind farm, Stag s Holt wind farm near March, Cambridgeshire 4.4 Stakeholders consulted To ensure that all relevant and interested parties were aware of the proposed Winwick Wind Farm, EC&R consulted with various stakeholders during the development stage of the project; both statutory and non-statutory organisations were contacted Local stakeholders have included Clay Coton Parish Council, West Haddon Parish Council, Cold Ashby Parish Council, Welford Parish Council, Elkington Parish Council, Winwick Parish Meeting, Yelvertoft Parish Council, Standford on Avon Parish Meeting, Lilbourne Parish Council, Cold Ashby Golf Club, Charwelton Airstrip, Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, Pitsford Airstrip, Sywell Aerodrome, Husband s Bosworth Gliding Club, Coventry Airport, Leicestershire Microlight Aircraft Club, Naseby Battlefield Project, and local residents of nearby villages including Cold Ashby, Coton, Elkington, Guilsborough, Thornby, West Haddon, Winwick and Yelvertoft.

19 Approach to consultation EC&R recognises that wind farms and other renewable energy technologies evoke many different responses and emotions in the communities in which they are proposed. Development can be seen as controversial and local communities can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the process Given that a significant amount of information is required to support any meaningful assessment of a wind farm project, it is a challenge to communicate such developments to a diverse range of people. Due to the lengthy time to undertake indepth studies there may be times when there is little new information that can be made available EC&R s overall approach to stakeholder engagement is to: Start consultation early, once feasibility work has been completed, but well before design freeze; Promote an open and transparent dialogue throughout the development process; Provide information to help local communities understand the benefits and impacts of a wind farm in a variety of accessible formats; Identify key supporters and objectors to a development and their main interests or concerns; Provide feedback mechanisms to enable an understanding of and address any concerns that the local community may have including welcoming constructive suggestions on the project design; and Help the local community define the structure of a community benefits package A tailored consultation process is initiated for each development to ensure that the local community are consulted and involved throughout the development process. 1 EC&R have committed to providing a community benefits fund of 28,000 per year for the life of the wind farm but the structure of this is still subject to agreement

20 13 5. Pre-application consultation 5.1 Consultation website A website is an effective tool for both facilitating two-way communication and establishing one point of reference for information relating to the scheme. As a result the EC&R stakeholder team initiated a site specific website at The website was designed to encourage dialogue, comment and debate with visitors able to leave feedback and register their support for the scheme The website includes: Latest news; Detailed information on the scheme; Exhibition boards; Information on community engagement; Information on wind energy in general; and Planning documents relating to the planning application in pdf format will also be available once the application has been submitted The website (Figure 5.1) has been promoted through the local media, newsletters and public exhibitions.

21 14 Figure 5.1 Winwick wind farm website 5.2 Public exhibitions, November EC&R organised two public exhibitions to illustrate the progress of the EIA process. The exhibitions were timed so that EC&R could present sufficient and meaningful information to the public yet allow time to incorporate suggestions raised and for revisions to be made where applicable to the ES The exhibition was promoted via: 1,450 hand delivered invitations to households in the villages of Cold Ashby, Coton, Elkington, Guilsborough, Thornby, West Haddon, Winwick and Yelvertoft; a press release giving details of the location, dates and times of the events; quarter-page colour adverts in the Harborough Mail, Northampton Chronicle and Harborough Citizen; and, A4 colour posters put up in the local vicinity of the village halls publicising the exhibitions. Publicity materials are provided in Appendix A The exhibitions were held over two days at two locations to provide residents with the opportunity to attend at the most convenient time and location. Members of the EC&R development and operations teams were present at West Haddon Village Hall on Tuesday 10 November from 2pm to 9pm and at Cold Ashby Memorial Hall on Wednesday 11 November 2009 from 1pm to 8pm. Exhibition boards are provided in Appendix B.

22 The following members of the project development team attended the exhibition and discussed the proposals and answered questions: Three EC&R project developers, including the Winwick Wind Farm project developer; The manager of the EC&R Onshore Origination team; The environmental assessment co-ordinator from Entec; The noise consultant who undertook the noise assessment; The landscape consultant who prepared the photomontages; Two members of the EC&R stakeholder engagement team; A member of the E.ON energy efficiency team; A member of the EC&R operations team who has experience of project managing the construction of onshore wind farms Representatives from Global Action Plan, a climate change awareness charity, also attended. They had available interactive displays to show visitors the connection between their everyday behaviour and climate change It was recorded that approximately 180 people attended the public exhibitions over the course of the two days. Visitors had the opportunity to talk directly with the Winwick Wind Farm project developer and other staff from EC&R. In addition, there were representatives from Entec, who have carried out environmental, noise and landscape studies on the project. A display of photomontages of how the wind farm could look from viewpoints in the surrounding area was presented. A computer based programme was also available for visitors to gain tailored wireframe images from any desired viewpoint, such as their own postcode; visitors were able to request these wireframe images be posted to them after the exhibition. Visitors were given an opportunity to appreciate and understand background noise levels using industrystandard noise monitoring equipment Detailed information about the features of the proposal, maps and habitat management plans gave visitors the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the scheme and foster dialogue between EC&R, specialist consultants and local residents Information on energy efficiency measures and products was available and visitors had the opportunity to discuss with a member of the E.ON energy efficiency team about how they could reduce their energy usage and improve their energy efficiency around the home Visitors were invited to provide comments about the proposal; 39 respondents did so. Comments from public consultation have been collated (Figure note some people had more than one concern). Generally comments that were in support of the wind farm related to the need for renewable energy. Negative responses are summarised below: Disruption during construction;

23 16 Countryside ruin (impact on the landscape); Noise effects; Proximity to bridleways. Figure 5.2 Comments from public exhibitions, November 2009 Support Construction disruption Countryside ruin Noise Proximity to bridleways 5.3 Post exhibition follow-up Following the exhibitions, the feedback received was read and considered. Wireframes were posted to residents who had requested them and other individual requests for information were responded to During the public exhibitions additional visualisation viewpoints were suggested by attendees. On the basis of this feedback, it was decided to include another two visualisation viewpoints in the ES; sited on two of the principal access routes into Winwick A newsletter was also written and sent to local residents providing a summary of and response to the key issues raised.

24 Public tours of Stag's Holt Wind Farm, November 2009 and April On the 4 th November 2009 a tour of an operational wind farm was organised for the local community. The tour was advertised on 1450 hand delivered invitations for the two public exhibitions in November Transport from Kelmarsh Hall, Cold Ashby Memorial Hall and West Haddon Village Hall was provided to the wind farm, Stag s Holt near March in Cambridgeshire. 26 people attended and members of EC&R development and operations team were on hand to answer questions about the working wind farm On the tour everyone was able to walk across the wind farm site and stand directly under the operational turbine. The project developer gave a presentation about the proposals for Winwick Wind Farm and pointed out the similarities and differences with the Stags Holt site. Stags Holt asset manager also gave a technical presentation on the operation of Stags Holt. Everyone was invited into the control room to see how the turbines are controlled and the site manager answered questions about the Stags Holt site Another tour was organised on 20 April 2010 to Stag s Holt wind farm near March, Cambridgeshire. This was advertised in the March 2010 community newsletter and by 1450 hand delivered invitations. 8 people attended and the day followed a similar format to the November tour. 5.5 Information days for access route, February EC&R organised two information days to display the access route proposals in the villages of Thornby and Guilsborough. These villages were highlighted as being affected by the preferred access route for abnormal loads. The information days were held over two late afternoons until late evening at two locations. Members of the EC&R development team and Entec UK Ltd were present at Thornby Village Hall on Monday 15 th February 2010 and at Guilsborough Village Hall on Tuesday 16 th February 2010 from 4pm to 8pm households in Thornby and Guilsborough received hand-delivered invites and posters advertising the information days were put up around the villages. Publicity materials are provided in Appendix C Some of the exhibition boards on show at the public exhibitions held in November 2009 were displayed and information relating to the five considered access routes was exhibited. Details of vibration mitigation and swept path drawings of the route through Thornby and Guilsborough and other key locations were presented Visitors were handed information sheets on the access route proposals and invited to provide comments. Technical experts from EC&R and Entec were also available to answer questions on the proposed access routes. Over the course of the two days 55 people attended, the majority of which were from Guilsborough.

25 Comments raised included: Some of the houses along Nortoft do not have any foundations at all (Cob Cottages circa 1601) or have very old foundations and underground cellars level with the pavements which may be in a poor state of repair; The road surface is in poor condition (worse due to recent snow) and there may be old services under the road also in a poor state or repair; The village has commissioned a study which concludes Nortoft is unsuitable for abnormal loads; There is a 7.5 tonne weight restriction in Guilsborough. Queries if there is a weight restriction or any structural consideration for the small bridge as you come onto Nortoft? Parking will be a problem over the delivery period, there is a very busy surgery in the village and two schools with many out-of-village students who travel by private car; Queries were raised regarding protection under buildings insurance if damage results from transportation of abnormal loads in future? Has the option of brining abnormal loads in by helicopter, train or canal, building a new road directly off the A14, raising Yelvertoft Road bridge, or locating the wind farm next to the motorway been considered? 5.6 Community newsletter, March In March 2010, a newsletter was produced to remind residents of the key features of the proposal and report back on the public exhibitions which took place in November The newsletter gave details of: the main comments raised at the exhibitions and EC&R s responses to these issues; the progress of the proposal in relation to the planning timeline; and. details of a wind farm tour to Stag s Holt wind farm in March near Cambridgeshire on 20 April The newsletter was distributed by hand to around 1,450 households in the villages of Cold Ashby, Coton, Elkington, Guilsborough, Thornby, West Haddon, Winwick and Yelvertoft. A freepost response address, freephone number and address, winwick@eon-uk.com, were provided. Appendix D includes a copy of the March 2010 newsletter.

26 19 6. Conclusions This consultation statement has demonstrated that EC&R have undertaken a diverse range of consultation methods to seek the views of the public and to publicise their planning application. The approach taken exceeds both national and local requirements. Local parish councils and residents of the area were invited to local exhibitions to view the proposed plans and provide views and comments on the development. These views and comments were then considered and, where possible, have been addressed in the final design of the scheme, or through information newsletters Comments received have informed and been fed into the design process along with technical and environmental constraints and planning policy issues. This has ensured a final design that balances optimisation of the site for wind power generation with environmental, social and economic effects EC&R will continue to engage with residents and stakeholders through the application process. Information will be made available on the website and opportunities will be sought to publicise the proposal as widely as possible. EC&R hope to hold information sessions post-submission.

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28 Appendix A November 2009 public exhibition publicity material

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30 Public exhibition Winwick Wind Farm proposal We re currently developing our plans for a wind farm between the villages of Winwick and Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire. The proposed wind farm could have up to eight turbines and could have an installed capacity of up to 20MW. You re invited to view our proposal at two public exhibitions on: Tuesday 10 November, from 2pm to 9pm West Haddon Village Hall, The Green, West Haddon NN6 7AN Wednesday 11 November, from 1pm to 8pm Cold Ashby Memorial Hall, Main Street, Cold Ashby NN6 6EL If you have any queries about the proposal, please winwick@eon-uk.com or write to Winwick Wind Farm Project Developer, Freepost RRSE-KZCU-AZJL, E.ON, Westwood Business Park, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8LG We re keen to hear your feedback and hope to see you at the exhibition. eon-uk.com/winwick

31 Invitation to the Winwick Wind Farm public exhibition 10 and 11 November Also, join us on a tour of one of our wind farms 4 November 2009.

32 Be part of a sustainable future We re currently developing our plans for a wind farm between the villages of Winwick and Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire. The proposed wind farm could have up to eight turbines and an installed capacity of up to 20MW. You re invited to view our proposal at two public exhibitions on: Tuesday 10 November, from 2pm to 9pm West Haddon Village Hall, The Green, West Haddon NN6 7AN Wednesday 11 November, from 1pm to 8pm Cold Ashby Memorial Hall, Main Street, Cold Ashby NN6 6EL We re keen to hear your feedback and hope to see you at the exhibitions. If you have any queries about the proposal, please winwick@eon-uk.com or write to Winwick Wind Farm Project Developer, Freepost RRSE-KZCU-AZJL, E.ON, Westwood Business Park, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8LG Wind farm tour We re holding a fact-finding tour * to Stag s Holt Wind Farm near March in Cambridgeshire on 4 November. This is a great opportunity to be shown around an operational site and see inside the control room. To book your place winwick@eon-uk.com before 26 October. Places are limited to 40 and are on a first come, first served basis. Transport will be provided (pick up/drop off points in West Haddon and Cold Ashby). * The tour is expected to last six hours with travel time included. 100% recycled and made from 100% post-consumer waste fibre. E.ON Climate & Renewables. Registered address: Westwood Way Westwood Business Park Coventry CV4 8LG Registered in England and Wales No

33 Appendix B November 2009 public exhibition boards

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49 Appendix C February 2010 information days for proposed access route

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51 Public information days Winwick Wind Farm access route We re currently developing our plans for a wind farm between the villages of Winwick and Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire. The proposed wind farm could have up to seven turbines and an installed capacity of up to 17.5MW. You re invited to view and discuss our proposals for the transport access route at two information days on: Monday 15 February, from 4pm to 8pm Thornby Village Hall, Church Lane, Welford Road, Thornby. Tuesday 16 February, from 4pm to 8pm Guilsborough Village Hall, The Green, High Street, Guilsborough. If you have any queries about the proposal, please winwick@eon-uk.com or write to Winwick Wind Farm Project Developer, Freepost RRSE-KZCU-AZJL, E.ON, Westwood Way, Westwood Business Park, Coventry CV4 8LG We re keen to hear your feedback and hope to see you at the information days. eon-uk.com/winwick

52 Invitation to the public information days for the Winwick Wind Farm access route on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 February 2010.

53 Be part of a sustainable future We re currently developing our plans for a wind farm between the villages of Winwick and Cold Ashby, Northamptonshire. The proposed wind farm could have up to seven turbines and an installed capacity of up to 17.5MW. You re invited to view and discuss our proposals for the transport access route at two information days on: Monday 15 February, from 4pm to 8pm Thornby Village Hall, Church Lane, Welford Road, Thornby. Tuesday 16 February, from 4pm to 8pm Guilsborough Village Hall, The Green, High Street, Guilsborough. If you have any queries about the proposal, please winwick@eon-uk.com or write to Winwick Wind Farm Project Developer, Freepost RRSE-KZCU-AZJL, E.ON, Westwood Way, Westwood Business Park, Coventry CV4 8LG We re keen to hear your feedback and hope to see you at the information days. 100% recycled and made from 100% post-consumer waste fibre. eon-uk.com/winwick E.ON Climate & Renewables. Registered address: Westwood Way Westwood Business Park Coventry CV4 8LG Registered in England and Wales No

54 Appendix D March 2010 community newsletter

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56 March 2010 Winwick Wind Farm Keeping you up to date with the progress of the Winwick Wind Farm proposal Wind farm proposal update A14 Naseby In November 2009, we held two public exhibitions to show you our proposal and listen to your feedback. Since then, we ve been working hard to finalise the wind farm design and complete all of the remaining environmental studies while we continue to consult with stakeholders. We ve almost completed the Environmental Statement (ES) which explains the methodology and results of all of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) work we ve completed. Invitation to our Stag s Holt Wind Farm Elkington Winwick West Haddon Cold Ashby Thornby Guilsborough We re holding a fact-finding tour on Tuesday 20 April 2010 of one of our operational wind farms, Stag s Holt near March, Cambridgeshire. This is a great opportunity to be shown around an operational site and see inside the control room. Transport will be provided from West Haddon, Cold Ashby and Kelmarsh Hall and the tour will last around six hours. Spaces are limited to 40 and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To reserve your place, winwick@eon-uk.com or call (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) by 14 April * Based on an average annual household electricity consumption of 4,700kWh (source: DECC). The annual electricity generation estimate is based on wind speed data measured on site. This data has been independently verified. This figure is based on the Government s long term marginal plant figure of 430g CO 2 /kwh. Although it s difficult to predict the exact impact of a wind farm development, we can be certain that over the course of its lifetime, green electricity from a wind turbine will offset large amounts of CO 2 that would have otherwise been produced if that electricity had been generated using fossil fuels, such as coal and gas. Project description Proposed wind turbine location Proposed Winwick Wind Farm site boundary Project scope 7 three-bladed wind turbines Turbine heights 80m from ground to hub/126.5m from ground to blade tip Total power Up to 17.5MW Location Between the villages of Winwick and Cold Ashby Equivalent energy Generates electricity for the estimated equivalent of around 7,800 households* a year Carbon savings Our estimates show that this development could offset around 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (C0 2 ) emissions a year

57 Next steps Our next step is to complete our planning application and submit it to Daventry District Council, along with the Environmental Statement (ES). All of the planning documents will be made available to the public and also on our website at eon-uk.com/winwick together with the Non-Technical Summary. Public feedback The feedback from local communities highlighted some key issues for you, such as visual amenity, noise, transport plans and local benefits. Please feel assured that we ve listened to this feedback and as a responsible developer, we will consider your comments in our application. We believe it s important to be a good neighbour in the communities where we work and operate. If you have any further questions, please don t hesitate to contact us using the details in the red box. Stag s Holt Wind Farm, Cambridgeshire for illustrative purposes only. Landscape and visual assessment We ve amended the wind farm design layout many times in order to achieve the best possible design. One of the key considerations of each layout change is how the wind farm will be viewed from various points around the site. Taking into account public feedback, we ve reduced the number of turbines from eight to seven and moved the turbines from their original locations to be further away from Cold Ashby village and the golf course. A series of photomontages and wireframe images were produced and made available at the public exhibition, but a greater number will be included in the ES. Local benefits Constructing, operating and maintaining the Winwick Wind Farm would see substantial investment into the local and regional economy, with the potential of creating and supporting jobs. Should the proposal be approved, we plan to hold a meet the buyer event to raise awareness of contract opportunities and establish links with local companies. We ll also be setting up a community fund which is estimated to contribute at least 28,000 annually towards local initiatives over the project s lifetime. This will be available for local projects. And we ll be offering habitat improvement and management plans to enhance the ecology around the wind farm. Keep in touch We have a number of ongoing consultations and these will continue throughout the planning process and beyond. Once our planning application is submitted, we re keen to keep in touch with you, answer questions, provide information and listen to your views. Our contact details are below, so please do get in touch: Winwick Wind Farm Project Developer Freepost RRSE-KZCU-AZJL E.ON Westwood Way Westwood Business Park Coventry CV4 8LG winwick@eon-uk.com Updates on the proposal are available on our website at: eon-uk.com/winwick Winwick Wind Farm March 2010 Transport plans We re in touch with local residents who live along the proposed transport route. We re working closely with them to ensure our traffic management and transport plans are suitable for the area and minimise any inconvenience. The full Traffic and Transport Assessment will be published in the ES following submission. We ll also be producing more detailed management plans and working closely with the local communities and highways authorities in order to carefully manage routes for construction traffic. We re looking at how local residents and businesses use the roads so we can avoid busy times as much as possible. 100% recycled and made from 100% post-consumer waste fibre. E.ON Climate & Renewables Ltd Registered address: Westwood Way Westwood Business Park Coventry CV4 8LG Registered in England and Wales No

58 E.ON Climate & Renewables UK Developments Ltd Westwood Business Park Westwood Way Coventry CV4 8LG Registered in England and Wales No