Gwynt-y-Môr windfarm judicial review will not blow plans off course

Jan 8 2009 by Michelle Coyle, North Wales Weekly News

GREEN campaigners urged councillors to block calls for a judicial review in a bid to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and help meet renewable energy targets.

Green Party representative for North Wales Joe Blakesley said: “I don’t think those campaigning for a judicial review have a chance. Unless something dramatic comes up, a review is not going to go in their favour and would be a waste of public money.”

Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru Gordon James opposed a legal challenge to the consent for Gwynt-y-Môr.

“Gwynt-y-Môr will generate a tenth of Wales’s electricity consumption and prevent the emission of two million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. Climate change is the biggest threat we face this century and we have to be taking action now.

“Decision-making powers for off-shore windfarms lie with Westminster. Although we would like to see these decisions taken in Wales, the reality is the Welsh Assembly does not have this power.

“Although opponents of wind energy are very vocal, opinion polls consistently show they are in a minority. Almost 5,000 letters supporting Gwynt-y-Môr have been collected and sent to the minister for energy and climate change. A judicial review could see Conwy County Council, and local tax payers, facing substantial legal costs.

“We do not believe the windfarm will harm tourism. In a similar situation, the council at Great Yarmouth has found the windfarm 3km from their shore has benefited tourism.”

The World Wildlife Fund urged Conwy to consider its responsibility to the global community and not pursue calls for a judicial review. Head of WWF Cymru Morgan Parry said: “We have a real opportunity with Gwynt-y-Môr to use the powerful resource off the Conwy coast to help global efforts to fight climate change.

“Unless we stop average global temperatures rising, we face a high risk of severe and irreversible changes in the planet’s natural systems. The consequences of changing weather patterns, warming seas and melting ice will be devastating.”