Decision on Wind Turbine Development in Blaenau Gwent Postponed by Welsh Government Ministers

A DECISION by Welsh Government ministers on a wind turbine development in Blaenau Gwent has been postponed for a month, councillors have been told.
At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Planning Committee on Thursday, January 12 councillors were updated on how several Development of National Significance (DNS) proposals to build wind turbines in the county borough are progressing.
Proposals classified as DNS mean Blaenau Gwent Council is a consultee rather than decision-maker, with the Welsh Government deciding the application.
Planning inspectors will look at all the information provided in the DNS application and eventually give advice to the Welsh Government on what decision to make.
A Welsh Government minister will then announce the decision.
One of the applications is by Pennant Walters Ltd who want to build eight wind turbines with a maximum blade height of 180 metres at Mynydd Carn y Cefn between Abertillery and Cwm.
It had been expected that a decision on this proposal would be announced by the Welsh Government on Tuesday, January 9.
Planning development team manager Steph Hopkins said:  “The decision for Carn y Cefn has been delayed until mid-February as soon as we have it, we’ll report it to the planning committee.”
Welsh Government head of planning casework Hywel Butts has sent a letter to the applicants and other interested parties notifying them of the  suspension.
Mr Butts said that this is to “allow the Welsh ministers further time to consider the application”.
“The revised determination date is now on or before February 16,” he said.
“The Welsh ministers will continue to review this suspension period and may amend it as necessary.”
The consultation process has caused some consternation in Blaenau Gwent, and last year the authority lost a fee in the region of £7,750 for not submitting the Local Impact Report (LIR) on the proposal in time.
This has led the council to contact both PEDW and the Welsh Government asking for more flexibility around the tight deadlines for DNS applications – which is stretching Blaenau Gwent’s planning resources. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​