Plans for wind turbines on estate refused

A planning committee has rejected plans for two wind turbines at Ballaman

An application to install two wind turbines to power a private estate in the south of the Isle of Man has been rejected by a planning committee.

The two 11.5m high turbines at Ballaman were submitted by Cheesdon Investment Limited, owned by billionaire John Whittaker, and would generate between six and seven kilowatts (KW) of energy for the estate.

But the committee found the turbines would have a "harmful visual impact" on the surrounding area, and there were concerns over the safety impacts on the nearby airport.

The plans received 24 objections, including from Arbory and Rushen Commissioners who said it was "overdevelopment of an already highly developed site".

'Not benefit community'

The commissioners also said the harmful visual impact would not outweigh environmental benefits.

A number of other objectors said the generated electricity would "only" provide power for the applicants home, and would "not benefit the community".

Plans for three 10KW wind turbines at the site were rejected in 2018 for similar reasons, but the planning officer who recommended the proposal for approval said views from the coastal footpath would be minimal, unlike the previous proposal.

The planning officer's report said the operations manager at the Isle of Man Airport indicated there were "no risks of the wind turbines interfering with the operation of the airport", but a specialist technical safeguarding assessment was requested, included as a condition of approval.

A number of planning applications have been approved for the site over the years, including the creation of a helicopter hanger and landing pad, extensions to the house and the installation of solar panels.

While five members of the committee rejected the plans, two voted in favour of them on the grounds the visual impact had been improved since the last planning application and it would reduce the applicants' carbon footprint.