2 days ago
Rayner urged to approve 30-metre wind turbines in back gardens
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Angela Rayner has been urged to allow homeowners to install wind turbines the size of Christ the Redeemer in their back garden.
Current planning laws restrict small-scale wind turbines to 11.1 metres in height (36.4ft), but the MCS Foundation, the industry's accreditation body, wants the limit to be tripled.
It is calling for turbines to reach heights of 30m (98ft) to allow more communities to harness renewable energy from wind.
The request – branded 'outrageous' by Reform UK's Richard Tice – comes after the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced plans to make it easier for homeowners and businesses to install turbines.
Under permitted development rights, only those with detached houses can install small-scale 11m machines on their property. But this could be opened up to millions more households if rules are loosened to include different types of housing.
MCS said it welcomed the proposal but also wants the Government to increase the height restrictions to 30m and blade dimensions to 8m.
Garry Felgate, chief executive of the foundation, said taller turbines would be 'unobtrusive'. He said: 'Thirty metres is just over the height of an average oak tree.
'Raising the maximum height restrictions at the same time as extending development rights could help many more rural communities harness renewable energy from wind.
'In particular, rural businesses, farmers and community energy groups could benefit from the lifting of restrictions.
'We also welcome the Government's plan to consult on extending small-scale wind's permitted development rights so that it is not only detached properties that can benefit, but a wider range of homes and businesses.'
Decisions on planning regulation changes come under the remit of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), run by Ms Rayner.
Permitted development rights allow homeowners to undertake building work without requiring planning permission.
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, said his party would 'not tolerate' the introduction of 30m turbines – the height of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer. It is also the equivalent of seven double-decker buses, and 1.5 times the height of the Angel of the North.
Mr Tice said: 'Allowing the tripling of wind turbine heights in residential areas is outrageous. This relentless net zero push will trash property values and turn our towns and villages into industrial eyesores.'
Statistics show that 3,400 detached homes have a certified wind turbine in their garden.
Installations have slumped significantly in the past decade, after the Tory government stopped paying homes for selling excess wind power to the grid in 2016.
Last year, there were just four certified installations across England.
DESNZ said evolutions in onshore wind turbine technology and increased demand for small-scale onshore wind turbines 'may allow for an update' to planning laws last reviewed in 2011.
A public consultation on loosening the rules will be launched by the end of the year.
MCS argued that permitted development rights already allow for mobile phone masts to reach 30m in non-protected areas and up to 25m in protected areas, such as national parks.
The foundation oversees the standards scheme which certifies the quality of renewable energy appliances – such as solar panels, heat pumps and turbines – across UK homes.
Sonya Bedford, of law firm Spencer West, said increasing the size of small-scale turbines would be a 'welcome change'.
She said: 'It's certainly not a step too far. In practice, the turbines will likely only be deployed in rural areas as they will have a better chance of unimpeded wind.
'I would, however, welcome the permitted right for commercial premises, as industrial estates can often be good sites for a wind turbine.'
The National Farmers Union (NFU) also believes relaxed height restrictions would help make a 'significant contribution to self-sufficiency in energy'.
Small-scale wind turbines are currently hard to come by as manufacturers rarely build smaller models. But should height restrictions be increased, it is hoped that demand will increase.
However, property developer Harry Fenner believes there is 'no serious appetite'.
He told The Telegraph: 'Most homeowners and landowners I speak to want planning certainty and the ability to protect the character of their communities.
'They aren't queuing up to install a turbine the height of a 10-storey building next to the rose garden.'
The debate over increased height limits for residential turbines comes amid Ed Miliband's push for a wind power revolution.
The Energy Secretary wants to expand the country's onshore wind capacity from 15 gigawatts (GW) to 29GW by 2030, with thousands of turbines poised to be built across the countryside.
An MHCLG spokesman said: 'Wind turbines larger than 11m in height require planning permission from councils, and we are clear that landscape and visual impact must be taken into account in planning decisions.'
