[Regarding the] recent APPROVAL of a Wind Turbine Power Station at Mynydd Bes - to the immediate North of Mynydd y Gwair. Here is a report of the meeting by an informed member of public / onlooker who attended the disgraceful Planning Committee that approved it last week.
The problem is that it is Plaid Cymru & Labour & Lib Dems who mostly support covering Wales in foreign Wlnd Turbines. lt's really odd that it's only the Welsh Tories who are fighting this travesty for Cymru. Below is the impressive list of organisations who objected to the Mynydd Betws proposal (|'ve since been through that dreadful report by Carms Head of Planning and found a couple more).
lt was a really disgraceful decision to approve it (15 to 4, with 1 abstention). 19 organisations and groups objected to it (including both neighbouring county councils city and County of Swansea AND Neath Port Talbot CBC), 4 community councils; Ammanford Town Council, Brecon Beacons National Park, Swansea Civic Society, The Gower Society, The Ramblers, The Open Spaces Society, Cambria Archaeology, CPRW, All Wales Energy Group, Cefn Croes Action Group, Bes Mountain Preservation Society, and even ccw and CADW; and their own (Carms CC's) Rights of Way B Access Manager expressed concerns. The community (Parish) councils were Bes, Mawr, Cwmamman, and either Llanedi or Llandybie (or both, as it was not entirely clearto me thatthe one the Head of Planning mentioned HAD withdrawn, and - for example - he implied that the commoners of Mynydd-y-Gwair were FOR Wlnd Turbines (which was WRONG) - so he may well have been wrong about other things. The Bes CC Chair took him up on what he had said about them, too). Also expressing concerns were Swansea NHS Trust (re access passing Morriston Hospital Casualty access).
The Environment Agency commented on possible problems with ground water, but neither objected nor supported; ditto Swansea Airport who said there might have to be lights on top of the turbines.
There were only 2 expressions of support; Bes Commoners Assoc (who stand to make a lot of money as they own the common) and Bes Common Holdings Ltd - the same people !; and NFU Cymru. Then there were various individual letters, of which those objecting outnumbered others by over 3 to 1 even.
If those which had any degree of similarity were discounted as the Carms. Head of Planning insisted on doing (I wonder if he looked at the addresses of those supporting ? - I suspect they were mostly the families of the owners - Bes Commoners). The whole thing was a complete travesty; the Head of Planning had obviously decided that it was going to be passed, and so distorted facts - to put it mildly - and angled his 'advice' to the councillors (most of whom seemed to have decided beforehand anyway). Basically he said that despite the problems with it as regards everything that people had said, and it being outside an SSA, and it conflicting with 2 of their UDP Policies, they were obligated to approve it as it was required by the WAG (Assembly). (The presentation was so bad that one ofthe 4 or 5 councillors who voted against it remarked that they should rememberthat they were not there to be a rubber-stamp for the Assembly. HE gave an excellent speech; but I doubt if it would have made any difference what anyone said). Despite being advised by Democratic Services that it is not appropriate for supporters of proposed developments to speak at Planning Committee meetings, the last half hour of the meeting at which the application was discussed was given over to a spokesman from the Wlnd Farm company who read out letters from some Betws Commoners who as owners of their (Bes) common have a financial interest and are supporters of the project. | would imagine it is now open season for wind farms in Carmarthenshire - should think any company wanting to put one there will be certain of getting council support; Bes wasn't in an SSSl. Having looked at the Head of Planning's report to the councillors, I cannot see how it can possibly be held up as a fair representation of the situation. For example, I had to go all through it to find the number of organisations opposing it, as he had 'hidden' them all over the place (as you observed !). And the councillor who spoke against the development said that there seemed to be no contradictory themes running through it, and pointed to the 2 UDP Policies that approval would go against, and how this had not been addressed.
ln spite of this mass of serious Opposition the Councillors of all parties supported destroying this Welsh landscape by greedy developers !
The main problem is that the Politicians are being led by UNSCRUPULOUS DEVELOPERS who have incompetent scientists advising them. Check out the Curriculum Vitae of Dr Ron Loveland who is the Chief Adviser on Energy at the Wales Assembly - a former Graduate Lab Technician !
Myron Evans
26 June 2007
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Betrayal by the Carmarthen County Council