Reprieve for Selby area wind farm plan

Members of the district’s planning committee had been expected to reject the proposed scheme – known locally as the Wood Lane Wind Farm – after a report from the council’s lead planning officer pointed to potentially unacceptable noise levels at properties in Birkin and West Haddlesey.

The applicant clearly knows how to exploit the system to their advantage.

But a late submission by the scheme’s applicant, Prowind UK, left councillors with concerns of coming up against ‘legal difficulties’, should the application be determined on the night.

Councillors have now voted to defer the decision to a later committee as planners await the submission of an environmental impact assessment by applicants.

Around a hundred members of the public attended the meeting at the council’s new Civic Centre headquarters on Doncaster Road. Many left feeling disappointed by the additional delay.

A statement by campaigners, published on the Stop Wood Lane Wind Farm website said, “It is a very one sided set up. The people that live in the area are given days to respond to every request and the applicant can take as long as they like.

“The applicant clearly knows how to exploit the system to their advantage.”

A decision on the application, which would see a total of 14 turbines built on land close to the villages of Birkin, Gateforth and West Haddlesey, has remained pending since the application was submitted to the authority in the spring of 2009.

The earliest date at which the council could make a decision on the application, following the deferment, is May 8th.