Cornwall Council becomes first in the UK to prioritise community owned renewable energy

Cornwall Council has become the first planning authority in England to publish detailed guidance on renewable energy development, prioritising community ownership in the planning process.

“The right model of community ownership can secure long-term revenues, which can benefit all members of the community,” Dan Nicholls, Principal Development Officer for the Planning, Housing and Strategy team at Cornwall Council, told Cities Today. “Community ownership and control of energy generation assets can also lead to cheaper fuel bills through localised preferential tariffs as part of the emerging concept of local energy markets.”

Local residents and communities in Cornwall are being asked to share their views on a new planning document that will provide guidance on how renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, wave, geothermal and biomass, can be deployed without harming Cornwall’s environment and heritage.

The draft Renewable Energy Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which has been produced by the Council’s Planning service, will contain guidance on a range of renewable energy technologies. It also provides an explanation of community ownership and highlights the importance of effective community engagement before planning applications are submitted and contains detailed guidance on specific issues such as landscape and cumulative impact (in particular for wind turbines and solar farms).

“Cornwall benefits from a range of significant renewable energy resources, including onshore wind, solar, deep geothermal, biomass and marine energy potential,” said Edwina Hannaford, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning. “The Council places great importance on the need to manage these valuable resources responsibly while safeguarding our local environment and the lives of residents. We also recognise the great potential for residents and communities to be involved in and benefit from the transition to a low carbon Cornwall.”

Once adopted the SPD will become part of the local planning framework for Cornwall and will be taken into account when determining renewable energy planning applications. This is a significant step forward in the emergence of a local energy market for Cornwall and a major contribution to the debate on a national level.

“Community engagement is at the core of everything the Council does,” added Nicholls. “The Council recently completed a budget setting exercise which included a two month long consultation consisting of 19 public meetings, 79 online public conversations and a web-based news release, which received over 8,500 hits.”