Labour overturns Tory ‘absurd’ ban on onshore wind farms

The Labour government has lifted a de facto ban on new onshore wind farms, to the delight of environmentalists and energy experts.

The ban was introduced due to two footnotes in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which governs the construction of houses and infrastructure.

These provisions applied only to onshore wind power and not to any other type of infrastructure. They required such strong evidence of no local opposition that building the turbines became impossible, given that there is almost always some local opposition to any proposed construction.

In Labour’s new NPPF, these footnotes have been removed entirely, meaning onshore wind projects are now on a par with all other forms of infrastructure. The change, which comes into effect immediately, will be confirmed in Parliament on 18 July when the House of Commons resumes.

Labour announced on Monday it would go a step further and consult on whether to designate large wind farms as infrastructure projects of national importance. This means that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband would approve such projects and local councils would have no say in the matter.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced in a speech on Monday that she would end “absurd” restrictions on new wind farms and said decisions should be made at a national, not local, level.

In a policy statement, officials said: “Delivering on our clean energy mission will help increase the UK’s energy independence, save money on energy bills, support highly skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis.

“That’s why we have committed to doubling onshore wind power by 2030. This means immediately ending the de facto ban on onshore wind power in England since 2015. We are reviewing planning policy to put onshore wind power on the same footing as other types of energy development under the National Planning Policy Framework.”

Last September, Michael Gove, then the Communities Secretary, said the ban would be lifted. Rules introduced by David Cameron in 2015 stated that a single planning objection could scuttle an onshore wind project. But the offending paragraphs in the NPPF footnote remain, making it almost impossible to build new projects. Analysis of the government’s renewable energy planning database showed that no new onshore wind projects were submitted after Gove’s announcement.

Lifting the ban was promised in Labour’s election manifesto, and later repeated by Miliband when he was shadow energy secretary. But campaigners were surprised by the speed with which the ban was introduced.

Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “By ending the ban on onshore wind in England, Labour is taking an important step towards meeting our climate goals, while also paving the way for lower bills because renewables produce some of the cheapest and cleanest energy available.

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“In April, research by Friends of the Earth found that using less than 3% of England’s landmass for onshore wind and solar could produce 13 times more clean energy than we do now – enough to power every household in England twice over. By harnessing the country’s vast renewable energy potential, the new government is setting itself up to lead the world in a green energy transition.”

Sam Richards, chief executive of pro-growth group Britain Remade and a former environment adviser at No 10, said: “The only way we can see the economic growth that Britain desperately needs is by making it much easier to build the homes and new clean energy sources needed to reach net zero emissions.

“At the election, Labour promised to overhaul our outdated and sclerotic planning system to do just that, and with this speech the new Chancellor got straight to work. Lifting the ban on new onshore wind farms in England is something Britain Remade has been campaigning for since we launched, so I’m delighted that Rachel Reeves has lifted the ban so soon after the election.”

Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s chief scientist, said: “As the recent gas price crisis has shown, this ban has been self-defeating for energy security, costly and a lost opportunity to cut emissions. The end of the ban is long overdue.”