At an event hosted by Green Alliance the Secretary of State will officially launch a consultation on the new proposals which would save months of planning procedures and hundreds of pounds. If the plans are approved they could be included in the planning white paper, to be released in the next few months.
Ruth Kelly will remind the audience however, that the local council will still have the power of veto if a wind turbine or other technology is deemed of 'questionable' benefit, such as sitting a wind-turbine in a built-up location, or where the benefit would be outweighed by its 'impact on the local environment'.
The Communities Secretary will say that local action must match global agreement on climate change:
'The real action to implement steps to a low-carbon economy and society has to take place at a community level. The local planning system should support efforts to tackle climate change rather than acting as a barrier.'
This article first appeared in the Ecologist April 2007
