1. Does the council have a Local Plan, which has been developed and/or updated in the past seven years (i.e. from January 2016 to date)?
2. Has any area(s) been identified as suitable for wind energy development in the latest Local Plan?
3. Has the council explicitly considered and has been unable to identify a suitable area for wind energy development in the latest Local Plan?
4. Does the council have a Neighbourhood Plan(s), which has been developed and/or updated in the past seven years (i.e. from January 2016 to date)?
5. Has any area(s) been identified as suitable for wind energy development in the latest Neighbourhood Plan?
6. Has the council explicitly considered and has been unable to identify a suitable area for wind energy development in the latest Neighbourhood Plan?
7. Please confirm how many (if any) onshore wind farm applications have been granted planning approval by the local authority during the past seven years (i.e. January 2016 to date)?
8. Please confirm how many (if any) solar farm (i.e. large-scale ground-mounted solar PV system) applications have been granted planning approval by the local authority during the past seven years (i.e. January 2016 to date)?
Further, can you kindly provide a copy of the latest (a) Local Plan and (b) Neighbourhood Plan and (c) confirm which sections (or pages) relate to the identification (or non-identification) of suitable areas for wind energy development?
In response to all of the above questions, we can confirm the following:
Devon County Council has a responsibility for producing Minerals and Waste Local Plans for Devon relating only to mineral and waste development, sites for wind energy proposals are not identified in these plans.
Should you wish to view the Devon Waste Plan or the Devon Mineral Plan, both are available on the council’s website by clicking on the following link: Minerals and waste policy – Planning (devon.gov.uk)
Other than as a consultee, the Council is not involved in production of Neighbourhood Plans.
Planning application for solar PV and onshore wind farms would normally be dealt with by the relevant district councils and we would therefore recommend that you contact them. Their contact details can be found at district and unitary authorities