Wind farm plan could be lodged by autumn

By Sarah Chambers

THE company behind a controversial plan to build a wind farm at an airfield said it hoped to submit a planning application for the scheme in the autumn.

Saxon Windpower wants to put up six 101m-high turbines at Parham Airfield, near Framlingham, and said the project's future was looking “very positive”.

It is currently carrying out an environmental impact assessment of the proposal requested by Suffolk Coastal District Council, which will decide whether to grant the scheme planning permission.

James Townsend, development manager for Saxon Windpower, said: “We have undertaken most of the studies requested by the council at the moment.

“We are undertaking several other studies that are in the process of completion and so far in all of our studies we have not found a single thing that would prevent a successful planning application at Parham Airfield.”

He added: “We would anticipate a planning application some time later this year, probably in the autumn.

“We are very confident that it's going to be a good application and should be successful. We are not going to put one of these applications in if we think there's a problem.”

But John Constable, chairman of protest group No Windfarm at Parham, which wants to see wind farms built offshore, said he was optimistic its campaign against the scheme would succeed.

“I did not expect them to find anything. It doesn't mean there isn't anything there. I'm not remotely surprised,” he added.

“I would be surprised if any consideration during the environmental impact assessment, other than an Ministry of Defence objection, would be sufficient to send a developer off, regardless of what they find.”

Mr Constable claimed the case against the wind farm was “overwhelming” and believed any planning application would not succeed.

“They won't get it. Public opposition in the area is strong and the case for the wind farm is very weak,” he added.

sarah.chambers@eadt.co.uk