Annual report for Hempnall Parish Council, 19 March 2009

Chairman’s report

On reflecting on the activities of this Parish Council over the last year, I can report that with very few exceptions life has been fairly uneventful.

The main exception to this statement however, again revolves around the wind farm application for Bussey’s Loke.

You will be aware that when the application came before this council, it was unanimously agreed to recommend refusal when the application was considered by South Norfolk Council. It was most gratifying last August to see South Norfolk Council endorse our opinion that such a large scale development was totally inappropriate for our villages.

As was expected, the applicants, Enertrag( (UK) Ltd applied to the Planning Inspectorate for a Public Inquiry and this was granted. The original date set by the PI for this event was April 21^st. This has since been postponed until late September earliest at the request of Enertrag to enable them to reconsider their EIA.

As soon as it was officially known that an inquiry was forthcoming, Hempnall Parish Council joined forces with Saxlingham PC and SHOWT to form a joint advisory group. This group then applied to the Planning Inspectorate for, and were subsequently granted a Rule 6 status which gives us the same representational status as Enertrag and South Norfolk Council.

In order to give ourselves the best possible chance of success at the inquiry, we have engaged the services of a first class barrister with an impressive track record in successfully opposing similar on-shore wind-farm applications in the UK. Similarly, we have also secured expert key witnesses who will contribute to our cause.

As with all expert services, these are accompanied by “expert” costs and, in order for Hempnall PC to meet its share of these costs it was necessary to increase our precept from £10,230.00 last year to £17,900 this year, an increase of around 75%. In real terms, this means that every householder in Hempnall will see an increase of between £11 - £16 on their council tax bill in the forthcoming year. This is the cost of democracy when one is fighting a company bankrolled by a rich foreign parent company!

On a far more positive note, I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to my colleagues on the PC for their support and enthusiasm, not to mention their “wicked banter” over the last year. There have been occasions when we have had a profound variation of opinions and passions have run high, but thankfully decisions have always been reached in a civilised and professional manner.

A final word of thanks must again go to Ian Nelson, our clerk, whose enormous and professional input into the day to day running of our parish council helps to ensure we live up to our Quality Council status, long may this be the case!!