In responding to the UK Government consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning, the IOA Renewable Energy Advisory Group have provide comment on proposals to remove statutory pre-application requirements for onshore wind projects under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 guidance. In responding they state that the current requirement for pre-application consultation in England under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for wind farm schemes is an anomaly against other technologies and out of step with recent policy changes. However, they state that the need to ensure an appropriate level of consultation should be mandatory, whether undertaken during pre-application or during the application. This could be provided through encouragement in the Policy Framework (NPPF) and through good practice guidance. The consultation covers England and Wales.
