Council 'one of the worst' at tackling climate change

Tom Palmer Political Correspondent

CLIMATE change campaigners have accused a Yorkshire council of being one of the worst in the country at supporting renewable energy schemes after eight green projects were rejected.

Since May 2007, ten renewable energy proposals have gone before East Riding of Yorkshire council’s planning committee, but only two were approved.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Developers have successfully appealed against all the refusals considered so far at public inquiries.

Volunteers at East Riding Alliance For Climate Action claim each planning appeal costs the authority around 60,000 and said the council was failing to take climate change seriously.

Spokesman Richard Claxton said: “We are appalled by East Riding Council’s attitude to wind farms and other renewable energy developments. Its record could be the worst in the country.

“This leads to expensive planning appeals. So far, East Riding Council has lost them all and must have spent about 300,000 of our money in the process.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The refused schemes include wind farms at Withernwick, Tedder Hill, Roos, Sober Hill, Sancton Hill, Sixpenny Wood and Monkwith, as well as the Tansterne Biomass Plant.

Wind farms at Burton Pidsea and Twin Rivers were approved.

Pete Ashcroft, head of planning and development management, at the council, said: “East Riding Council has already delivered its 2010 target for renewable energy.

“Indeed, the total of all the operational and consented renewable energy schemes in the East Riding is about 200MW, which well exceeds the Council's target for 2021 of 148MW.”