TREFEGLWYS Community Council did not support plans to erect a weather mast between the Glaslyn Nature Reserve and Llyn Clywedog, Powys planners have confirmed.
A report on a planning application by Esgair Galed Energy Park Limited for a 120 metre high meteorological mast had to be tweaked just before the application was discussed at a meeting of Powys County Council’s Planning committee on Thursday (March 14).
The original officer’s report and documents placed on the Powys council planning portal indicated that Trefeglwys Community Council had supported the application.
The application is within the Trefeglwys community council boundary and therefore as a statutory consultee it is expected that any comments attributed to a community council would be from them.
It has now been found that the comment in support of the application had actually been made by neighbouring Llanbrynmair Community Council.
Trefeglwys had not provided any comments on the proposal.
The updated report said: “Officers wish to clarify that the comments on the proposal as outlined within the officers report are made from the nearby community council ward of Llanbrynmair.
“Officers confirm that the comments do not reflect those of Trefeglwys Community Council the ward in which the proposal is located.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that representatives of Trefeglwys council raised concerns with Powys council planners over the comments after they had been published in a news article which previewed the plans would be decided today.
The Powys Planning committee went on to vote against the mast proposal.
If the mast had been approved, it could have gathered data for a potential windfarm proposal for the area.
Since the firm unveiled their proposal in January, Bute Energy have held a number of drop in sessions in the area to explain their plans.
Esgair Galed Windfarm would roughly be situated, northwest of Llanidloes, southeast of Machynlleth and south of Llanbrynmair.
Any future wind turbine planning application would be deemed a Development of National Significance (DNS) and would be processed by Welsh Government planning inspectors at Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW).
If built the wind turbines would create 171 MW of electricity which would be enough to power between 113,000 and 179,000 households a year.
Following today’s refusal Bute Energy could appeal against the decision to PEDW (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales) or lodge a fresh application with Powys council.
