Navitus Bay Wind Farm

Andrea Leadsom Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Andrea Leadsom)]

It is a great pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) on securing the debate. I know that this matter is of great interest to his constituents, and that he has been assiduous in pursuing opportunities to discuss the proposed wind farm in the House on their behalf. I also know that the matter is of great interest to the constituents of my hon. Friends the Members for Poole (Mr Syms), for Christchurch (Mr Chope), for Bournemouth West (Conor Burns), for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson), and for North Dorset (Simon Hoare). Along with my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset, they are long-standing advocates in this matter, and have been diligent in representing the views of their constituents. They should all be commended for their efforts.

As Members will appreciate, I am relatively new to the energy portfolio, but my short time in the Department has reinforced my awareness of the huge importance that the energy sector has, and will continue to have, to the country’s economy. I am also very aware of the importance to local communities of proper consideration of the potential local impacts of energy projects.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has set out the key aims of her Department: keeping the lights on, powering the economy, and keeping bills low for families and businesses. The achievement of those aims will require a robust energy strategy, and will, in turn, depend on a broad energy mix for electricity generation, including new nuclear, gas, carbon capture and storage, renewables, and other relevant technologies. We will approach the United Nations climate change conference in Paris with both ambition and pragmatism. I know that energy infrastructure projects of all sorts can have real impacts on local communities, but such projects can also bring real benefits. Finding the right balance between impacts and benefits is a key issue for the Department when it makes its decisions.

As was pointed out by my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West, I cannot comment on the specific merits or otherwise of the Navitus Bay proposal this evening, as doing so could be considered prejudicial to the planning process.

As my hon. Friends will know, the Planning Inspectorate completed its examination of the development consent application for the proposed wind farm, and its associated onshore and offshore infrastructure, in March this year. During a debate that took place in November 2013, before the Navitus Bay application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), who was Energy Minister at the time, encouraged individuals and organisations with an interest in the proposal to engage with any public consultation that was launched. I know that a number of the Members who are present tonight noted that encouragement, and were among the many hundreds, if not thousands, of people who made representations to the Planning Inspectorate during the examination of the Navitus Bay application.

Prior to examining the application, the Planning Inspectorate indicated that it would cover a broad range of topics it considered to be of importance in assessing the potential impacts of the proposed wind farm. The topics on which views were to be sought included biodiversity, fishing, navigational safety, onshore and offshore heritage—including the Jurassic coast world heritage site—and visual and socioeconomic impacts.

The Planning Inspectorate’s report was submitted to the Secretary of State on 11 June along with its recommendation on whether consent should be granted or refused. It will now be for the Secretary of State to consider her decision in the light of that report and all relevant information.

[Simon Hoare]

Can my hon. Friend give any indication of the Secretary of State’s timeframe for coming to a decision on the report?

[Andrea Leadsom]

I was just coming to that. My very next comment is that it is now for the Secretary of State to consider her decision and she must announce it no later than 11 September 2015, to meet the statutory requirements for planning Act cases. My hon. Friend will forgive me for not being more precise, but he will appreciate that we have only had that report for a couple of days

In taking decisions on planning applications, it is important that all parties are given a fair crack of the whip and that issues are analysed on their merits with an open mind. The consideration of all such applications has to be robust and thorough—this is a fairness point for all interested parties and the applicant.

Large energy infrastructure projects inevitably attract considerable interest from people who may be directly affected by the proposals and also from people who have views on energy projects in a more generic way.

[Richard Drax]

Yes, big energy projects do draw huge attention, but the only reason this one is drawing a lot of attention is that it is so near the shore. If it was miles out, we would not give it any attention at all.

[Andrea Leadsom]

I thank my hon. Friend for that remark. He should certainly feel reassured that my officials and I are very much listening to his and other hon. Friends’ concerns.

In planning Act applications of this sort, it is for the Secretary of State, as decision maker, to consider all the arguments that are made for and against these projects and that are set out in the Planning Inspectorate’s report. I can assure all hon. Friends that the Secretary of State’s consideration of the Navitus Bay application will be rigorous and fair.

In conclusion, I hope that all hon. Members are reassured that the concerns raised by interested parties about the potential impacts of this project are being properly considered through the planning process. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset for raising this constructive and thoughtful debate and to all other hon. Friends for attending and for their contributions. I can assure them that I will note the views expressed tonight and will relay them to Lord Bourne, who will be taking the decision on the consent application.

Question put and agreed to.