Isle of Wight Council: No Objection to Navitus Bay Proposal

UK Planning Committee held a meeting yesterday regarding the proposed Navitus Bay offshore wind farm.

Isle of Wight Council gave no objection to the proposal but recommended requesting more information in relation to noise and ecology.

The council presented the main considerations in its report:

• The Council’s role in the application process
• The sustainability benefits of the proposed development
• Impact on the character of the Island’s landscape, seascape and AONB
• Impact on ecological interests
• Coastal management and geology
• Health issues
• Impact on cultural heritage (on and off-shore)
• Economic impacts

Navitus Bay wind farm, with a total capacity of up to 970 MW, would be located 17.3 kilometers off Scratchell’s Bay (south of the Needles on the Isle of Wight) and 14.4 kilometers from Durlston Head (on the Isle of Purbeck).

The Council said that the wind farm, covering an area of 153 square kilometers, “would deliver significant amounts of clean renewable energy and that this would contribute towards national targets for carbon savings.”

Offshore WIND staff, July 23, 2014; Image: navitus bay