Please see a statement from Navitus Bay about recent changes to their wind farm proposal.
I am writing on behalf of Navitus Bay Development Ltd to inform you that we will today be announcing plans to scale back the proposed wind park by removing the northernmost part of the development, known as the "top triangle". The move comes in response to feedback received from the public and statutory consultees during the final round of consultation last year, and demonstrates our genuine commitment to listen and act upon the responses we received.
The development will now cover an area of 155 km², compared to 175 km² under the previous boundary, and the maximum number of turbines that will be built, based on the use of the 5MW model, will fall from 218 to 194. If the wind park is granted planning consent, it will generate a maximum capacity of 970MW of low carbon energy. I enclose a map providing further details of the boundary change for your information, as well as a table setting out the new distances from shore of the nearest turbine.
Further to the previous scaling back of the site in December 2012, today's announcement will significantly reduce the visual impact of the development from all viewpoints along the coast in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. We therefore hope this boundary change will address many of the concerns which members of the local community have previously raised about the project, in particular its visual impact, while ensuring that the project can continue to make a significant contribution to the UK's energy security.
6 Feb 2014 Power Outage at Parley Close
On Wednesday 19th February 2014 a contractor working on behalf of Scottish and Southern Energy will be renewing the power lines in Parley Close, West Parley. The power outage will take place between 8.30am and 15.30pm, and they will be on site between 8.00am and 16.00pm. The lower end of Parley Close, where the junction is with Christchurch Road, has a one hour parking restriction on it that is utilised by local shoppers. Due to the nature of the work they need to carry out, the vehicles they use and the access they require to the power line poles, any vehicles parked here would stop them from being able to complete. Would residents please try and avoid parking here on 19th Feb, thanks!
5 Feb 2014 Vote for Parley Sports FC
As you may know, Parley Sports Club has been successful in gaining a good grant to support the club and is now in the position to bid for the magnificent sum of £100,000! The voting is being done through Facebook so if you have an account - or if friends and family members do - please encourage them to help support our local club. -
Budweiser Club Futures Facebook page
- vote now!!
Club Chairman Simon Jordan is the driving force behind all the great changes gpoing on at the club, and said "We are a local club, for local people and heavily rely on local support, sponsorship and general goodwill to survive year on year.
This season we have been extremely fortunate and have secured a £50,000 grant from a Budweiser backed FA initiative for needy clubs.
Without this, it is fair to say the club would have closed its doors this season, which obviously would have been a catastrophe.
We now have the opportunity to add a further £100,000 to this, yes thats right £100K
I don't need to tell you what this could do for us!"
It will only take 2 minutes, and will not cost you a penny, so if you have a Facebook profile, please vote for Parley Sports Club by using the Budweiser Club Futures Facebook page.
12 Jan 2014 Parley Wood being improved
Major improvements to Parley Wood are under way in a collaborative project between Parish Volunteers, West Parley Parish Council and East Dorset Countryside Rangers. For many years the ancient wood has suffered from boggy, indistinct and overgrown pathways. Parish volunteers have started to clear holly and dead trees, widened and defined pathways and removed trip hazards. The pathways are much safer and the holly clearance allows in more light to encourage plant diversity and make the Woods feel safer to users.
Diggers will soon be brought in dig out clogged ditches to drain some of the wetter parts and felled wood and cuttings will be chipped to improve pathways where this is needed.
Signage is already in place to explain what there is to see in the Woods and show the route of paths and location of benches for the weary walker. Work on this project will continue until the end of March.
Parley Wood is the last large area of natural woodland in West Parley and is shown on maps hundreds of years old. The wood was used as a managed resource, supplying oak timbers for ships and buildings and hazel coppiced to provide material for buildings and fencing.
The Parish Council is keen to see more people use the Wood. It is well used by dog walkers, is on the route of the new West Parley Heritage Walk and is frequently used by the popular Wednesday weekly walkers group. It is hoped that these improvements will attract a wider group of users, especially as it will be easier to use pushchairs on the pathways when the work is completed.
A number of bird boxes have been put up and more are planned, as are wood sculptures along the pathways.
There is ample car parking off Christchurch Road. New signage close to Parley Country Club, off Christchurch Road, shows the access points to the Woods and details of other amenities in the area. Walkers can drop into Parley Country Club after a good walk.
This project is part of an overall plan to improve the recreational assets of West Parley. Major improvements have already been made to the Recreation Ground over the last few years and the Parley Country Club has had a major makeover of the whole interior of the building.
12 Jan 2014 Calling all bagpipe players - are you free on Burns Night?
Can you help out? A Burns Night is planned for 25 January at the Parley Country Club in West Parley and to give the evening the right atmosphere, the event organisers are keen to have a piper to pipe in the haggis in the usual way. This is the first Burns Night to be held in West Parley.
This is a good chance to dust off the pipes and see if you have still got it or you know someone who can.
Please contact Simon Jordan on 07976 561408 if you can help out. Free haggis, neaps and tatties on the night to whoever volunteers.
3 Jan 2014 Building Plans - District Council publishes Main Modifications
Planning Inspector directs District Council to make modifications to Core Strategy building plans.
When the independent Planning Inspector ended the first stage of the Planning Inquiry in September she told the District Council they had to make some changes to their plans before they could be considered. These changes are known as Main Modifications. E.D.D.C. has now published these and they can be found in detail online at Dorset for You website - www.dorsetforyou.com/408258
For West Parley there are two changes:
On the Dudsbury heights field the area of building will be reduced by over 50% and the number of houses reduced. This will result in most of the field being what the planners call a S.A.N.G. (suitable alternative natural greenspace) which in other words is a public park.
The building plans on the New Road field are unchanged. The District Council have however made an opportunistic bid to take the field immediately South of the New Road/Church Lane footpath out of the green belt. If they succeed they will undoubtedly be tempted to make building plans for this field, but that would have to be deferred until the next major "Core Strategy" type of planning review a decade or so away.
There is an ongoing consultation, ending on January 22nd, on these "Main Modifications" Details can be found at www.dorsetforyou.com/408258
On the first of the above proposed West Parley changes the Parish Council will still be opposing the idea of building at all on the Dudsbury heights field but if the plans go ahead we shall be welcoming the proposed change. On the New Road field proposed green belt alteration we shall be vigorously opposing this as an opportunistic land grab for which no kind of evidence has been produced.
The "timeline" for all these building plans, as far as we are able to estimate it, is:
mid 2014 - planning inspector publishes results of her planning inquiry.
end 2014 - Secretary of State makes his decision on the building plans.
early 2015 - planning applications come in from builders
mid 2016 - planning applications decided by EDDC.
early 2017 - first houses built, at a possible rate of 30 or so a year per site.
