Broadview

< Back to all project news 17 May 2010 - Seamer Turbines approved by independent planning inspector

Broadview Energy today welcomed a planning inspector’s decision to approve the building of two wind turbines on land between the villages of Seamer and Hilton. The decision, following last year’s approval by Stockton-on-Tees Council of three turbines on adjacent farm land, should enable Broadview to start construction of its wind farm in the autumn. The company is aiming for the Seamer wind farm, with five turbines in total, to enter commercial operation in the first quarter of 2011. It will generate power for around 7,000 homes in the Tees Valley and the North East.

Jeffrey Corrigan, Managing Director of Broadview Energy, said: “We are very pleased to have received the Inspector’s approval. We will work closely with the two local councils as well as those people living in the vicinity of the site to carefully manage the construction and operation of the wind farm. Initial preparatory work for the wind farm has already started and we should be starting work on site in the early autumn. 

In parallel with the construction work we will also wish to speak with representatives of the local community about the creation of a community investment fund which will support projects that benefit the local community.”

The decision on the two turbines rested with the Government's Planning Inspectorate after Broadview Energy chose to appeal against Hambleton Council’s decision (in September 2009) to reject the planning application. The decision by the Council’s planning committee (by seven votes to five) had been made contrary to the recommendation of their planning officer.

As the site area for the Seamer wind farm straddled the boundaries of two local authority areas (Hambleton Council and Stockton-on-Tees Council), it had been necessary for Broadview Energy to make two separate planning applications. The company submitted its first applications in July 2008.

 

For media enquiries, please contact:
Lisa Ross at Broadview Energy Limited (lross@broadviewenergy.com / 020 8487 9150)

 

Notes to editors:

• Information on the Seamer wind farm can be obtained via www.broadviewenergy.com or the project website www.seamerwindfarm.com. 
• Broadview Energy Limited develops wind energy projects in the United Kingdom that generate clean and sustainable energy. Broadview takes projects from site identification, through the planning process, to construction and ultimately operation. The company focuses on small projects, typically between two and ten turbines. Its first wind farm (near Aberdeen) entered operation in January 2010 and it has a number of other wind projects at various stages of development throughout the United Kingdom.