16:41 Mr Kevan Jones (North Durham) (Lab)

I am sorry, but I completely disagree with the hon. Member for Waveney. The draft order will mean that in many cases the wind plants do not go ahead, as popular opinion locally and the voice of the communities will clearly argue against them. It is therefore important to know what the guidance will be and how local authorities will draw up their policies on how wind plants fit into their local plans, for example. Without such guidance, a local authority could attract great costs if it declines a wind farm and that decision is appealed to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change or the Planning Inspectorate. A local authority could be left in a difficult position, because in meeting local opinion and satisfying objections, it might incur the cost of the appeal process. If the Secretary of State or the inspector granted the planning application, members of local planning committees could be left in a difficult position.

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16:44 Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)

I have one brief question for the Minister, seeking an observation as much as anything else. By way of background, I have had a personal interest—not a financial interest, but a personal interest—in renewable energy and onshore wind for about 30 years. Generally speaking, I was not opposed to onshore wind, and when it was a new technology, it was welcomed in my constituency. The Centre for Alternative Technology is based in my constituency, where there is a general thriving interest. In recent years, though, a level of development has been imposed that has caused great objection locally, and I am now thought of as an opponent of onshore wind, which is, generally speaking, the truth. That is why I welcome the draft order and everything the Minister said, but there is on point on which I seek her views.

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