Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed, Liberal Democrat)

The House seems to be returning to its old ways. This is the second night running that I have taken part in an Adjournment debate after 11.15 pm, but I am nevertheless glad of the opportunity to raise the role of the Department of Trade and Industry in wind farm applications in Northumberland.

Northumberland is facing a massive wave of applications for wind farms, with a heavy concentration of applications in the stretch of beautiful open countryside that lies between Berwick and Alnwick, and further clusters of applications or potential applications around the boundaries of my constituency at Ellington, Lynemouth and Longhirst, around Longhorsley, and around Kirkwhelpington, which lies over the boundary in the neighbouring Hexham constituency. Mr. Atkinson is present tonight.

Those sites lie in the areas of four planning authorities. I have so far counted four actual and one potential application in Berwick borough, one actual and three potential applications in Alnwick district, one actual and seven potential applications in Castle Morpeth, and two over the border in Tynedale. A total of almost 200 turbines is in prospect in or alongside my constituency, with further applications over in the Kielder area. Even many constituents who are sympathetic to the development of wind power have found this a bewildering and daunting prospect.

The Department of Trade and Industry has several roles in relation to these applications. First, it takes to itself the decision on wind farms with an installed capacity of 50 MW or more. So far this includes the Middlemoor application, north of Alnwick, and the Ray estate proposal near Kirkwhelpington. Secondly, it has a role alongside the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister if an application below that size is the subject of an appeal against local authority refusal. Obviously, any of the sites may be the subject of such an appeal following a local planning authority refusal, and then the issue would be taken out of the hands of the local community.

Thirdly, the DTI is responsible for Government energy policy, for delivering on the Government's renewables targets, and indeed for the incentives that have encouraged so many companies to put in applications for wind farms, which many people would see as a conflict of interest with its role in the planning process. I shall consider each of those aspects of the Department's role.

A question ought to be raised about why the DTI is taking decisions at all in cases such as Middlemoor. The power under which this is happening was, I suspect, included in the Electricity Act 1989 to make it easier for major strategic power plants to get approval. Even if that could be justified—I served in Committee on the 1989 Act, where we sought to amend those provisions—it hardly seems appropriate to use the 1989 Act to separate a few wind farm applications from the rest for central consideration without a proper local planning decision. Because wind power is intermittent, the average output of a 50 MW wind farm is probably less than 20 MW. Why does the Minister not hand the planning responsibility for Middlemoor back to Alnwick district council, which is the local planning authority? Why not let local people decide?

If the DTI insists on making the decision, the local planning authority can insist on a public inquiry, but central Government will still make the decision, which seems completely inappropriate. Incidentally, I understand that this week the DTI asked Alnwick district council to defer consideration of its views on Middlemoor while further information is sought from the developer. Perhaps the Minister will tell me what that is all about.

When the DTI deals with an application, how does it assess local opinion? There are differing views on the various applications in Northumberland, but a number of them, including Middlemoor, have attracted vigorous opposition. The DTI's process of inviting comments by an early date has not left people with the feeling that they have had a fair hearing or that their views are being taken seriously. Furthermore, the Middlemoor and Ray applications need to be seen in the context that I have described, because so many applications are coming forward. How can the DTI rule on the Middlemoor application without knowing what Berwick borough council will decide on the nearby Wandylaw application or the three sites further north?

What frightens many people is the prospect of a chain of five or more sites with more than 60 turbines stretching through the countryside west of the A1 from Alnwick to Berwick, all visible from popular viewpoints such as Ros castle and the Cheviot hills. Tourism is now of crucial importance to jobs and businesses in Northumberland, and, although I do not accept the argument that every wind farm necessarily poses a threat to tourism, a development on anything like this scale would totally change the landscape and views that tourists come to enjoy. The Minister must tell us how he will prevent a situation in which he takes a decision on the Middlemoor site without regard to the risk of a ribbon development of wind farms.

Peter Atkinson (Hexham, Conservative)

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. The chain will be even longer than that, because it will run from the A68 to the A1. We could end up with a chain of turbines running right across some of the most beautiful landscapes in Northumberland.

Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed, Liberal Democrat)

That is a genuine concern. People who would judge one application on its merits are seriously worried about the cumulative effect.

If the local planning authorities decide to refuse most of the major applications in the area, will they face having their decisions overturned by the combined forces of the DTI and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on appeal? In that respect, they have taken some encouragement from the Minister's acceptance of the inspector's decision to refuse a major wind farm application at Whinash in Cumbria, but will the Cumbrian refusal make refusals in Northumberland less likely, so as to keep up with the targets?

Critics of the wind farm plans see such developments against the background that the DTI leads on energy policy. The DTI has targets to meet—10 per cent. of energy use from renewables by 2010 and 20 per cent. by 2020. It has chosen to place very heavy emphasis within renewables on onshore wind power to meet those targets, despite the potential of wave and tidal power, solar power, geothermal power and biomass.

This week, I have received representations about the withdrawal of DTI and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funding from the community renewables initiative. That will directly hit the REALL organisation in Northumberland, which supports and enables community renewable energy projects in the very villages that are most likely to be affected by the wind farm proposals, such as ground force heat pumps in Lowick and Etal.

While those incentives are being removed without anything being promised in their place to promote community renewables, the incentive for the generating companies to go for the wind power option seems to have been set too high. There is a lot of scope for the use of wind power in micro-power projects. The smaller windmills powering local businesses or groups of houses gain much readier public acceptance, and some such schemes are under discussion, but we need a more broadly based renewables strategy. For the Department that has locked itself into wind power targets to decide local planning decisions strikes many of my constituents as wrong in principle and worrying in practice.

I should also mention something that might influence the Minister more than it should: the regional spatial strategy. The strategy has been produced by the unelected regional assembly, so it has no democratic authority. Its proposals are fiercely contested on many grounds, some of which relate to housing. It is especially relevant for tonight's purposes that the strategy is contested, because of its designation of a significant part of Northumberland as having the potential for wind farm development.

The draft strategy is at the consultation stage, and the Minister needs to be aware that major objections have been put in about the question of areas that are claimed to be suitable for wind farms. Some of the objections challenge the principles on which areas have been designated, while others challenge the technical accuracy of the work done on the strategy. The target that the assembly has set for wind power in Northumberland is three times what the national 10 per cent. target would suggest, so that, too, is being vigorously contested by many people who have put in objections to the strategy. At this stage, the Minister cannot rely on the draft, and much questioned, regional spatial strategy to justify a presumption in favour of applications at Middlemoor or elsewhere in Northumberland, so I hope that he will not attempt to do so.

Many people accept that wind generation has a part to play, alongside other renewables, in reducing CO ₂ emissions and developing a sustainable energy policy. Some people genuinely like the sight of wind turbines and do not find them too intrusive. For example, the wind turbines on the harbour wall at Blyth often get quite favourable comments. However, most people think that there are landscapes and views that are too attractive and distinctive for us to allow them to be fundamentally changed by the erection of turbines, pylons or a variety of other developments, and that a cumulative growth of wind turbines marching across many miles of countryside is something to be avoided.

The process by which some decisions are taken by a central Department with a policy interest in approving wind farms, with others taken separately by neighbouring planning authorities, is not a satisfactory way of reconciling concerns and making good decisions. I would like local authorities to be able jointly to mount a public hearing at which all applications could be considered at the same time, without the involvement of the DTI. All local views could then be heard, as could the developers, and coherent decisions could be made by local planning authorities. It would be much better if the Minister would take a step back and persuade his colleagues in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to help him to ensure that there are no obstacles to such a genuinely local process along the lines that I have suggested. Would it be possible to have an open hearing at which all views could be heard, but with the decision still taken locally, or is that too much to hope for?

Malcolm Wicks (Minister for energy, Department of Trade and Industry; Croydon North, Labour)

I am grateful to Mr. Beith for giving me the opportunity to explain the role of the DTI in wind farm applications. He referred to the relative lateness of the hour, but I am bound to say that when I rose at 5 am to go to Brussels, this was always going to be the highlight of my day—I mean that most sincerely. I should make it clear that I am unable to comment, as he will understand, on individual applications, given the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial role on consent decisions. However, I realise that the right hon. Gentleman is questioning that role.

Let me say something about the statutory position. Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 gives the Secretary of State responsibility for decisions on development consents in England and Wales for onshore electricity generating stations, including wind farms, with a capacity above 50 MW. When granting such consents, he can also deem planning permission to be granted under section 90 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Applications for generating stations up to 50 MW are dealt with by local planning authorities under the normal planning regime.

The logic behind applications above 50 MW being determined by the DTI is that energy supply is of vital national importance. While that is generally recognised, there can also be a tendency for any local community to resist the location of energy infrastructure in their area. Clearly we need the infrastructure and it has to go somewhere. The right hon. Gentleman would soon be initiating an even grander debate if his constituents found that they were not getting an electricity supply, so there is a tension between the two requirements.

As we need the infrastructure, the long-standing arrangement has been that central Government take decisions on projects above 50 MW. However, that is not to say that decisions on larger projects circumvent the planning system or that local people do not have a say. Local planning authorities are always consulted. Their views, and those of local communities, are taken into account by the Secretary of State, who also seeks advice from the relevant environment, nature, conservation and heritage bodies before taking a decision. Should a planning authority object, the Secretary of State is obliged under the 1989 Act to hold a public inquiry. Even if a planning authority does not object, he has the discretion to hold an inquiry in the light of other representations received. Were a public inquiry to be held, it would be presided over by an independent inspector, and those who wished to attend and give evidence would be invited to do so. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the inspector's latest judgment on Whinash, which the Secretary of State supported.

As well as seeking inputs from local authorities on applications, my Department also has written advice and guidance to take into account. Planning policy statement 22 on renewable energy is particularly relevant to wind farms, as is PPS7 on sustainable development in rural areas. The same guidance is followed by the DTI and local planning authorities. There are also regional spatial strategies. Local authorities often have local development plans. Those only offer guidelines on what level of development might be appropriate, but where they exist they are clearly important factors in any decision. I am also aware that the north-east assembly and local authorities in the area have commissioned landscape capacity studies to help to inform decisions on wind farm applications in terms of their cumulative landscape impacts. Those, too, will provide an important input to decisions.

Of course, undertaking any environmental impact assessment can be complex. That is particularly so for wind farms where there are several applications in the same region.

Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed, Liberal Democrat)

I want to reinforce the point that I made in my earlier remarks. The regional spatial strategy that affects this region is still in draft and is fiercely contested, so the Minister ought not to rely heavily on its very controversial content.

Malcolm Wicks (Minister for energy, Department of Trade and Industry; Croydon North, Labour)

Yes, I hear that. I was hoping that the right hon. Gentleman might address the need of his constituents, and all our constituents, to have energy from somewhere, and that he might add what would be acceptable to him. Perhaps that is asking too much of an Adjournment debate.

It is open to developers to acquire access to land and to submit their applications. That is in the nature of our planning system. As wind turbine technology advances, it becomes possible to site wind farms in areas where it was previously thought that the wind speeds were too low. Developers may then see potential in separate but nearby sites. Such situations raise questions as to whether allowing more than one of them to be built would create potential cumulative impacts, whether in terms of visual effects or other matters. There is an onus on the wind power industry to act sensibly in considering whether to submit applications in areas where others have already made them. It also makes sense for developers to co-operate in providing environmental impact assessments.

However, it is a competitive industry, and while multiple applications can make life more complicated for regulators, they do not make it impossible. Any application submitted to my Department would have to include an environmental impact assessment that set out the applicant's view of the likely impacts of the project in its own right and its cumulative impacts with other projects. Those other projects could be operational, already consented or simply ahead in the planning queue.

Peter Atkinson (Hexham, Conservative)

The problem that we face in my constituency is that we have an application for one large wind farm that will be determined by the DTI and other applications for another wind farm, some of the turbines of which will be on the site of the first wind farm. How on earth does the local authority reconcile that problem?

Malcolm Wicks (Minister for energy, Department of Trade and Industry; Croydon North, Labour)

To debate that fully, we would have to introduce into the picture national energy security, the importance of securing our energy from somewhere and the balances that we need to strike.

We do not require applicants to take account of proposals that are in the pipeline but not yet submitted. That would place an unfair burden on the applicant, as proposals not yet submitted might lead to an application. Details may be scanty and that could make it impossible to consider them in an environmental impact assessment.

Further complications arise when multiple applications in an area come under both the Electricity Act 1989 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is not for the Secretary of State to try to influence decisions that properly fall to local authorities. Authorities will consider applications on the basis of the same guidance and advice as is available to the Department of Trade and Industry, but the decisions are up to them.

When applications that could interact are made under both regimes and go to inquiry, they could be tackled by a single inquiry. The inspector would need to consider the individual merits of each application and the possible cumulative effects before making recommendations to the relevant decision makers.

I shall not comment on whether all or any of the applications lodged in Northumberland might have cumulative impacts on each other. Some may be too far apart to have combined effects. However, officials in the Department have been working with applicants, local authorities and the Government office to ensure that the handling of those applications is fair and transparent.

Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed, Liberal Democrat)

The Minister made a helpful point. He said that it is possible to hold a public inquiry that brings together an application—or several—with which the Department and the local authority are dealing and ensure that the inspector reports back to the respective decision makers. Is he willing to encourage the relevant authorities to take that approach to contiguous applications? Is the Department willing to co-operate with that?

Malcolm Wicks (Minister for energy, Department of Trade and Industry; Croydon North, Labour)

As I said, that can sometimes make sense. Of course, it is also a matter for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and we are trying to pursue that strategy when appropriate.

We remain firmly committed to renewable energy. As the most advanced of the renewable technologies, wind power will continue to play an important role. As we consider our energy requirements and become a net importer of gas—we import 10 per cent. at the moment but 80 per cent. is projected to come from other countries by 2010—we need to have some answers about the source of energy. Some people need to talk about "yes", not "no". I hope that the right hon. Gentleman does not mind my pointing that out gently. The lateness of the hour probably means that I should not mention that Liberal Democrat spokespersons often urge me to accept that the answer is not nuclear or many other things but simply efficiency and renewables. The words, "wind farms" often pass their lips. If that is a principle, which many of us accept, we need to put it into practice from time to time. We cannot always take a "not in my back yard" position. I do not refer to the right hon. Gentleman's county, but I am trying gently to point to a dilemma as he urges us to reject wind turbines in his area.

Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed, Liberal Democrat)

I did not say that we should reject all wind turbine applications. I tried to suggest that we need a process whereby decisions for large numbers of neighbouring applications can be considered carefully on their merits and not in a way that deprives local people of a key role in such decisions.

Malcolm Wicks (Minister for energy, Department of Trade and Industry; Croydon North, Labour)

I must not trespass on particular decisions, but I assume that that means that the right hon. Gentleman is supporting certain applications. However, it would not be fair if I were to point to that dilemma more markedly than I have done.

I do not expect the energy review, on which I am leading, to change the principles at the heart of the planning regime. In short, these are designed to ensure robust consideration of applications, which allows good projects in the right location to get approved. Sometimes, despite the controversy, the answer will be yes. Sometimes, however, as we have recently illustrated very graphically with the Whinash decision, when the answer should be no, we will be absolutely determined that the answer will be no.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising the issues that particularly affect Northumberland, and for allowing us at least to consider in draft form some of the dilemmas that we are presented with when many people want to say no to all sorts of developments, although we are on the cusp in regard to energy security. We need some projects in our nation to go forward if we are to have energy security in the first half of the 21st century.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty minutes to Twelve o'clock.