Last night saw the planning committee of Ventnor Town Council “see no reason” to object to the application to have three wind turbines on Ventnor Golf course.
The Detail
A large group of people attended with the majority of them being golfers, hence pro the wind turbines.
There were two declarations of interest. Cllr Mew because of his connection to the Ventnor Golf Club (VGC) and Cllr Scoccia as she is on the IW planning committee.
The discussion among the councilors opened with Cllr Lucas praising the application as “very thorough.” He went on to say that he felt that the understanding of the visual impact of the three turbines wasn’t clear enough and would like to see a balloon floated to the height of the turbines at the proposed site to get a true understanding what they would look like.
Cllr Bartlett said he thought it was a good thing, proposed acceptance and a move to a vote.
Cllr Scoccia reminded the councillors that, “We have to view the application on its own merit and not on if it will save the golf club,” referring back some of the comments that had been made by the golf club supporters during the public comments.
Cllr Welsford felt there was a need for a full environmental impact report and from the discussions that he’d previously had with the IW planning office AONB team at Seaclose Park, they felt the same.
Opening with “What I say might not make me popular, ” Cllr Taylor, who represents Lowtherville, said that no-one in her area had voiced any objection to her, with the only comment being from someone outside the area. She said she didn’t think that there were any planning issues and seconded the proposal.
More to come. We’ll update this story throughout the day, filling in the detail, so come back for more.
