Onshore Wind – Community Benefits Flex Their Muscles

The UK Government has produced its response to the Onshore Wind Call for Evidence (Community Engagement and Benefits). A number of measures have been recommended by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in relation to onshore wind farm developments in England. These include:

• A compulsory pre-application consultation with local communities in planning for onshore wind (this will require legislation to be promoted by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG))
• Empowering communities in planning, through various measures:
• • DECC will provide clear and reliable evidence on the impacts of onshore wind, through an "evidence toolkit"
  • DECC have commissioned a series of local seminars on the costs, benefits, impacts and opportunities for positive action on climate change