Have we lost more local power to the Welsh Assembly?
In the same week MyWelshpool revealed the Welsh Government could terminate direct services to Birmingham and London at Shrewsbury from Welshpool as part of a new rail franchise for Wales and the Borders, the Welsh Assembly has now taken a decision to take local decisions on certain energy planning matters centrally instead of through Powys County Council.
This week it has emerged that the Welsh Assembly has brought forward changes to planning law which will take certain decisions away from Powys County Council and the local electorate and straight to AMs and the Welsh Government.
The Welsh Assembly brought forward secondary legislation relating to energy generating stations which will see the Assembly take decisions on more such schemes, bypassing Powys County Council and local scrutiny.
Russell George, Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire and Shadow Minister with responsibility for planning, criticised the proposals.
Under the law, a definition of a Development of National Significance has been set to include all energy generating stations of between 10-50 Megawatts.
He said as such, the Welsh Government would assume the power to consider any onshore energy generation station within this range.
This is at odds with an earlier proposal which would only have included energy generating stations of between 25-50 Megawatts, leaving the others to local authorities, such as Powys County Council to decide on.
During a Senedd debate on the issue, Russell George AM said: “This is an assault on local democracy.
“I passionately believe that efforts should be made to ensure that important planning decisions are made closer to the people they represent but the Welsh Government want to centralise these important powers, denying communities a voice.
“Whilst Local Planning Authorities in England are empowered, in Wales they are being denied a say.”
He claims the decision could mean planning decisions on wind farm proposals of just five turbines could be made by the Welsh Government instead of Powys County Council, with feedback from town and community councils.
He added: “In reality, local opinion will become completely irrelevant because by definition any proposal lodged with and determined by the Welsh Government will automatically be of so-called “national significance” and therefore assume a status of importance which it will be argued is in the national interest and therefore override any other local considerations.
“This is a charter to ensure that major developments can take place anywhere across Wales, regardless of local opposition.”
He added: “It will effectively mean that the Welsh Government will be responsible not only for setting policy on major onshore energy generation but also the decision maker on the vast majority of schemes except for single turbines.
“There is absolutely no way that a cluster of around 5 wind turbines, for example, can be considered “nationally important.”
“For me you don’t improve consistency and capacity by simply taking the decision making process out of the hands of elected planning authorities; all you are doing is eroding local democracy.”
