The boss of Ecotricity, the company behind the failed bid to build five wind turbines on the outskirts of Burnham-On-Sea, says he remains “very confident” that a wind farm will one day be built on the site.
Sedgemoor District Council’s Development Control Committee unanimously threw out Dale Vince’s proposal on Tuesday (August 8th) but he says the company will appeal against the decision and believes it will succeed second time around.
“I’m mildly disappointed by today’s decision but not surprised,” he told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“Sedgemoor District Council have got it all wrong – they failed to properly balance rationale and local prejudice.”
“I believe many of the councillors who voted against the scheme hadn’t even read the application or fully understood the issues. There was a lot of nonsense discussed and the council were not able to make a reasoned decision.”
He said Ecotricity would be appealing against the decision. “It’s very wearing that we have to appeal,” he added.
“A public enquiry will be both costly to us and expensive for Sedgemoor’s taxpayers too.”
“I think it will be 12 months before we get a decision, so I’d say we’re probably two years away from having a fully operational wind farm at this site.”
“But I remain very confident that we will get the go-ahead here. We have an awful lot of support locally and the area is ideal for a wind farm.”
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