Navitus Bay Wind Farm — House of Commons, 2015-06-15
Topic: Energy
Andrea Jacqueline Leadsom (Conservative, Centre-right): It is a great pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax) on securing the debate. I know that this matter is of great interest to his constituents, and that he has been assiduous in pursuing opportunities to discuss the proposed wind farm in the House on their behalf. I also know that the matter is of great interest to the constituents of my hon. Friends the Members for Poole (Mr Syms), for Christchurch (Mr Chope), for Bournemouth West (Conor Burns), for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson), and for North Dorset (Simon Hoare). Along with my hon. Friend the Member for South Dorset, they are long-standing advocates in this matter, and have been diligent in representing the views of their constituents. They should all be commended for their efforts. As Members will appreciate, I am relatively new to the energy portfolio, but my short time in the Department has reinforced my awareness of the huge importance that the energy sector has, and will continue to have, to the country’s economy. I am also very aware of the importance to local communities of proper consideration of the potential local impacts of energy projects My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has set out the key aims of her Department: keeping the lights on, powering the economy, and keeping bills low for families and businesses. The achievement of those aims will require a robust energy strategy, and will, in turn, depend on a broad energy mix for electricity generation, including new nuclear, gas, carbon capture and storage, renewables, and other relevant technologies. We will approach the United Nations climate change conference in Paris with both ambition and pragmatism. I know that energy infrastructure projects of all sorts can have real impacts on local communities, but such projects can also bring real benefits. Finding the right balance between impacts and benefits is a key issue for the Department when it makes its decisions As was pointed out by my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West, I cannot comment on the specific merits or otherwise of the Navitus Bay proposal this evening, as doing so could be considered prejudicial to the planning process As my hon. Friends will know, the Planning Inspectorate completed its examination of the development consent application for the proposed wind farm, and its associated onshore and offshore infrastructure, in March this year. During a debate that took place in November 2013, before the Navitus Bay application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), who was Energy Minister at the time, encouraged individuals and organisations with an interest in the proposal to engage with any public consultation that was launched. I know that a number of the Members who are present tonight noted that encouragement, and were among the many hundreds, if not thousands, of people who made representations to the Planning Inspectorate during the examination of the Navitus Bay application Prior to examining the application, the Planning Inspectorate indicated that it would cover a broad range of topics it considered to be of importance in assessing the potential impacts of the proposed wind farm. The topics on which views were to be sought included biodiversity, fishing, navigational safety, onshore and offshore heritage—including the Jurassic coast world heritage site—and visual and socioeconomic impacts The Planning Inspectorate’s report was submitted to the Secretary of State on 11 June along with its recommendation on whether consent should be granted or refused. It will now be for the Secretary of State to consider her decision in the light of that report and all relevant information.