Council 'no longer in charge' of planning

East Riding Council leader Stephen Parnaby fears the authority is powerless to stop wind farms blotting the landscape.

He said the Government seemed "hell-bent" on supporting every renewable energy scheme.

And he claimed the council is "no longer in charge" of key planning issues in the East Riding.

Councillor Parnaby was speaking out as the council's cabinet agreed new guidelines covering planning applications for renewable energy developments.

With the East Riding facing a boom in wind turbine and biomass energy plant schemes, the guidelines indicate what issues should be addressed in any new application.

However, they stop short of declaring no-go zones for certain types of development.

Two separate decisions by the council to reject high-profile renewable energy schemes at Routh and Aldbrough were both recently overturned on appeal.

Cllr Parnaby said: "I just think we are being stuffed, it's as simple as that.

"We are being ridden roughshod over by the Planning Inspectorate and the Government, who seem hell-bent on supporting every renewable energy scheme, come what may.

"The Government makes great play over encouraging local people to have a voice, but these sorts of decisions by planning inspectors fly directly in the face of that.

"As a planning authority, I feel we are no longer in charge of what is happening in the East Riding."

At Routh, a 12-turbine wind farm was given the go-ahead in February after initially being refused permission by East Riding councillors.

Earlier this month, a straw-burning plant at Tansterne, near Aldborough, was also approved on appeal.

There are currently appeals pending on three more wind farms in the East Riding, which have previously been refused by the council.

The council is already poised in the next two years to exceed Government targets for renewable energy development for 2021.

Speaking at the meeting, environment portfolio holder Cllr Symon Fraser said the appeal decisions had been a "kick in the teeth" for the council and residents. He said: "We have always supported renewable energy production and this guidance is about making sure it is steered towards suitable locations.

However, this proactive stance appears to count for nothing in some of these appeals."

Cllr Matthew Grove said: "Every single renewable energy appeal we have fought, we have lost.

"It reminds me of the 1960s gold rush to build tower blocks everywhere and now, 40 years on, they are all being pulled down. I fear exactly the same is happening now with wind turbines."

Holderness resident Joy Cain, who led protests against the Tansterne plant, said: "There's an awful lot of talk by the Government about community involvement and asking people what they think, then they completely ignore it and ride roughshod over it."

Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart said: "We need to work with local communities, not try to impose a Whitehall-knows- best approach."

A spokeswoman for Communities and Local Government said: "Planning inspectors reach their decisions only after very careful consideration of all the relevant planning issues, including the likely effect of the proposed development on the surrounding area and the views of the local planning authority and residents."