Government decisively rejects Lincolnshire wind farm proposals

The Lincolnite reports that a proposed wind farm at Hemswell Cliff north of Lincoln has been dismissed by central government. The final decision was made by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark, who considered that the scheme for eight wind turbines.

Read the full story here. Hemswell Cliff Wind Farm, located 13km east of Gainsborough, was originally refused planning consent by West Lindsey District Council’s Planning Committee  in October 2013. Following this decision, they lodged an appeal with The Planning Inspectorate in May 2014. It was brought in by former Secretary of State Eric Pickles. The decision by Greg Clarke ends this project permanently.

The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge, on which is cited Hemswell Cliff, is the portion of a major escarpment that runs north-south through Lindsey and Kesteven, in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of the county. The prehistoric route known loosely as the Jurassic Way follows the line of this escarpment.

Historically, Lincoln welcomed the nine windmills that took advantage of the escarpment winds to generate clean energy to produce flour, of which one fine example remains. A well organised local campaign prevented the modern iteration of wind power.

When the original planning permission was declined, Neil Parnell, of site developer RWE Innogy UK’s, said: “We firmly believe this is a good site for a wind farm with suitable road access, good wind speeds and a suitable connection to the electricity grid.”