Offshore windfarm refused planning permission

A High Court judge has overruled planning permission for an offshore wind farm off the east coast of England. 

The Norfolk Vanguard wind farm was granted development permission last year, however, this decision has been overturned, with the judge ruling that ministers had not taken into account the ‘cumulative impacts’ of the project.

The legal challenge was brought by local resident Raymond Pearce, who lives near Reepham in Norfolk. He raised concerns about the effect the development would have on the landscape and view, with trenches for the cables from the windfarm to onshore substations to pass within 80m of his house.

A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson said they were ‘disappointed by the outcome and will be considering the judgment carefully before deciding next steps.’

Vattenfall also said they were ‘very disappointing outcome.’

The Norfolk Vanguard windfarm and another proposed scheme, Norfolk Boreas, have a combined capacity of 3.6GW, which Vattenfall has said will be enough to power 3.9M homes. The final decision on Norfolk Boreas is not expected until April 2021.