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DC Casebook: Energy development - Turbine serving rural opera house agreed

Energy development

Planning, 22 August 2008

The secretary of state has approved a wind turbine designed to supply electricity to the Glyndebourne opera house in East Sussex, finding that it would not harm the Sussex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) or the area's proposed designation as a national park.

The 44m-high turbine had been designed to generate 850kW of electricity to serve the Glyndebourne complex. The appellants explained that opera productions were staged between May and September, leading to an increased need for electricity to power air conditioning and lighting. The turbine would be connected directly to an existing electricity substation near the opera house and would meet a measurable proportion of the facility's energy needs.

The secretary of state noted that the scheme had generated significant opposition, particularly over its impact on the AONB, the proposed national park and the listed opera house's setting. However, she noted that it did not involve major development in the context of PPS22. It would involve a unique form of development serving a unique enterprise that was seeking to reduce its electricity costs and carbon footprint, she found. In her view, the impact on the landscape and setting would be acceptable.

DCS Number 100-056-479

Inspector Andrew Pykett; Inquiry.