§ Jim KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what resources have been made available to his Department for the fulfilment of its obligations under PPG 22 in advising district councils during the process of the issue of planning consent for an onshore wind turbine. [27333]
§ Dr. MoonieNo specific additional resources have been made available to the Ministry of Defence to enable them to assess onshore or offshore wind turbine proposals.
The consultation procedure mentioned in PPG 22 is known as Safeguarding. This is a statutorily based system whereby local planning authorities are required to consult the Defence Estates Safeguarding (DE Safeguarding) team on planning applications for development near to certain sites such as aerodromes, explosives storage areas or communications facilities. Safeguarding ensures that no development occurs that would interfere with the safety or effectiveness of military operations. There is no statutory obligation for the local planning authorities to consult DE Safeguarding on developments outside Safeguarded areas. However, as it is now widely recognised that wind turbines may interfere with radar, communication aids and low flying anywhere in the UK, the Safeguarding team is routinely included in consultations.
Defence Estates Safeguarding section acts as a focal point to co-ordinate the MOD response to both informal proposals from the wind energy industry and formal planning applications from local planning authorities. There are 10 technical advisers within the MOD who are consulted by Defence Estates on wind turbines proposals, all of whom undertake the assessment of the impact of the proposals in addition to their operational duties.