Will The Relaxation Of Planning Rules Encourage Onshore Wind Development?

This week, the Government has announced amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to ease planning restrictions. The hope is that it will make it easier for onshore wind farms to be built, and end a de facto ban on such developments.

Under the current system - introduced by David Cameron's Government in 2015 - local authorities in England can reject an application to build an onshore windfarm based on a single objection from a local resident. In addition, any new development must also have been included in the local authority's local development plan. These restrictions, which do not apply to other energy developments, have been criticised, as they effectively stop onshore wind development. Between 2016 and 2022, only 12 planning applications for onshore wind farms (totalling 21 turbines) in England were approved. That is only 2.7% of the number of turbines that had planning permission granted for the previous six years (2009 to 2015)¹.