80m wind turbine granted near Bishop's Castle

Planners have approved an 80-metre tall wind turbine near Bishop’s Castle that will power around 650 homes.

The scheme, say Shropshire and Telford Community Energy, will generate electricity for up to 30 years, after which the turbine would be removed or the term extended, subject to new planning consent.

The firm has chosen Conery Farm, to the south west of Bishop’s Castle. Owned by Beamond Partners Ltd, the historical name for the field is ‘Shootin Alley’, so is also referred to as the Shootin Alley Wind Project or Shootin Alley Wind Turbine.

The proposed turbine has a maximum  height to blade tip of 80m and a hub height of 50m.

The power would supply hot water and domestic heat to up to 650 properties in the town centre through a series of heat pumps in Bishop’s Castle via underground cabling and grid connection to the substation on Church Lane, and potentially to the substation at the junction of Church Street and High Street to create a loop.

Shropshire & Telford Community Energy says, since 2021, it has been working on the project with Lightfoot, an environmental charity based in Bishop’s Castle. There have since been three public meetings, with the plans presented to the town council.

Pre-application advice was also carried out with Shropshire Council in 2023, which the developer says has been invaluable. Access for deliveries will be via the B4385 immediately west of the site. The main construction period is likely to last around six months, with heavy vehicle access and potentially noisy construction activities limited to 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 7am to 5pm at weekends.

Out of 12 comments received by members of the public, nine were in favour.

“I fully support this application, which will provide power for a community energy project providing heat to over 100 houses in Bishop’s Castle, significantly cutting carbon emissions and providing affordable and sustainable heating,” said Helen Fairweather.

“It will also provide heating for the school, the leisure centre and potentially other large buildings. It is a first for Shropshire, in fact I believe the country, and we should be proud of it.”

Bishop’s Castle Town Council and Shropshire Hills National Landscape also supported the scheme. However, it did not receive the backing of The Gardens Trust due to the widespread and degree of visual impact it will cause.

Lynn Parker, a planning officer at Shropshire Council, said that envirommental impacts have been thoroughly assessed, including noise, safety, electromagnetic transmission interference, ecology, heritage, shadow flicker, and landscape and visual impacts.

“The proposed 1MW wind turbine development for Bishop’s Castle is a significant step toward renewable energy and climate change mitigation,” she said.

“It proposes substantial benefit to the local community by providing renewable energy to approximately 650 households and preventing the emission of up to 1,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

“Less than substantial harm impacts on designated heritage assets and impacts on the character of the surrounding Shropshire Hills National Landscape are outweighed by the development’s public benefits.”