CPRW Brecon and Radnor Branch: Communication to Membership

As you are all well aware, and many of you have already generously contributed towards the fund for legal fees for this action, CPRW B&R served papers on 6 December on Welsh Government and Interested Parties for a Section 288 Review of the Minister, Lesley Griffiths’, incomprehensible decision to allow the Hendy Wind Farm development.

As you are also well aware this challenge is being overtaken by events.

The construction work at Hendy/Llandegley Rhos began on 20th November immediately after submission of applications to discharge conditions, and continues at breakneck speed, at nights and at weekends, with no regard for permitted hours of work. The developers are evidently determined to erect one turbine before the end of January in order, it seems, to be eligible for government subsidy.

Works have taken place on the Llandegley Rhos common and more are proposed for which no planning consent has been applied for or obtained. Construction teams have been pile driving on the wind farm site and concrete is now arriving on site for the first turbine base.

This work is being carried out without any of the pre-commencement planning conditions being discharged. These conditions are all binding and the Minister’s consent is contingent upon the conditions being satisfied in full and discharged.

While heroic demonstrators at the site have done their best to delay these works on common land, we have made repeated representations to Powys County Council to enforce a halt to these illegal works without any tangible result. On 6th December Powys informed residents that the developer had been ‘advised to stop’ but that no enforcement notice had been issued. Since then the council have professed themselves unable to get ‘evidence of unacceptable harm’ – which Planning Officers maintain to be a requirement for enforcement action.

We have set out that the Council has applied the wrong tests re enforcement action and has misinterpreted material points of law to reach their decision not to enforce against construction works, which are of themselves unlawful because they have not followed approved plans, and are being undertaken without discharge of pre-commencement conditions.

We have this morning served on the Council a pre-action protocol letter, addressing the legalities of the Council’s position on enforcement. In it we demand that effective enforcement action is undertaken by the end of this week or that we will forthwith issue proceedings against them for a judicial review of the enforcement function.

It seems that the developers, Powys County Council and the Welsh Government consider they have no need to heed or uphold the law. With your help we are going to make them feel the full force of it.

Jonathan Colchester – Chair B&R CPRW