A plan for two wind turbines at land off Pingle Lane in Stone has been thrown out by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
Hallmark Power’s application to build two 45m turbines on land at Stone Park Farm was refused by Stafford Borough Council in 2013. Residents from nearby Aston Lodge had fought a campaign against the turbines.
Hallmark’s appeal against Stafford Borough Council’s rejection of their plans was passed to the Secretary of State – Greg Clark MP – for a decision. On 21st October he dismissed the appeal, despite an inspector’s report that called for planning permission to be granted. The Secretary of State said Hallmark Power had not addressed the concerns of local people.
You can see the Secretary of State’s full decision HERE.
Stone county councillor Philip Jones called public meetings in 2013 and launched a petition. Today he called the Secretary of State’s decision “great news”.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter” ]Cllr Jones added: “Most heartwarming is that the strength of community feeling against the application was the principal factor in his decision. So very well done all those 600 people who signed the petition and the hard-working activists who came to our public meetings and collected the signatures.”[/box]
The Secretary of State introduced new planning laws in June this year that mean wind turbines should only get the go-ahead if they have been clearly backed by local people in a Local or Neighbourhood Plan. The Stafford Borough Local Plan identifies no sites for wind turbines.
The new laws also place a greater emphasis on wind turbine companies to fully address impacts identified by local people – something Hallmark Power failed to do during the appeal process.
Hallmark Power has six weeks to lodge a challenge the Secretary of State’s decision in the High Court.
A separate appeal from Hallmark Power for a turbine at land in Cotwalton will also be decided by the Secretary of State, although a decision isn’t expected until 2016.
