Uproar over plans for giant wind farm off Dorset's Jurassic coast



As a 95-mile stretch of unspoilt British coastline that dates back hundreds of millions of years, it has been designated a World Heritage Site.

Now the Jurassic Coast has been earmarked for a more modern and controversial use - as the site of an off-shore wind farm.

Developers have been invited to submit plans for the project which could see up to 100 300ft giant turbines positioned in the sea off the Dorset coast.

There are plans to build a giant off-shore wind farm 10 miles out to sea off the Dorset coastline

Yesterday the idea of a wind farm on the ancient stretch of coast sparked outrage after it was revealed the idea had progressed without any consultation with local residents.

The area is hugely popular with walkers, fossil hunters and holiday makers for its natural beauty and history which make it the only wholly natural World Heritage Site in England.

Yesterday it was claimed that the Crown Estate, who are responsible for Sovereign owned land, had tried to keep local authorities in the dark about their plans for a multi-million pound wind farm.



Bournemouth Borough Council only found out about the proposal because an officer happened to attend a meeting with a company that was in the process of bidding for the contract.

Now, in a rare move, the local authorities affected have released a joint statement attacking the Crown Estate, which owns the sea bed around the UK, for failing to consult with them.

The Dorset site is one of eleven potential areas named by the Crown Estate, after a study of geology, wind strengths and shipping lanes.



Others include East Sussex, Cardigan Bay in Wales, the Irish Sea off Cumbria and the North Sea off Norfolk.

Energy firms will bid to build the turbines, which rise 300ft above sea level and usually stand in water less than 100ft deep.

Cllr Brian Leverett, leader of Borough of Poole council, said the news had come as a shock to both him and his constituents.

Outrage: An artist's impression of the wind farm off of the Jurassic coast

He said: 'This is very poor consultation indeed. This is not a minor development, it's a major proposal and a very controversial one.

'I think the government has fallen far short of the standards of consultation we have a right to expect from them.

'We are elected to represent the people of Poole - how can we do that if we don't even know what is possibly being proposed right on our doorstep?'

Cllr Nick King, a Conservative cabinet member at Bournemouth Borough Council, criticised the Crown Estate and said: 'They are really by-passing democracy by not consulting the councils.

'They have shown complete disregard for the hundreds of thousands of people who will be affected.'

He added: 'They clearly didn't want to consult us so they could go away then present it as a fait accompli.'

Part of the statement from Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Purbeck councils stated: '...we are collectively disappointed that no approach appears to have been made by The Crown Estate to either advise us of these plans or seek our views and the views of local residents, partners and businesses.'

Controversial: This wind farm in Whistable shows what Dorset's coast could look like in the near future

It concludes: 'We ask Crown Estates to ensure that the consultation they have started includes direct discussion with us and ensures that the views of local people, partners and industry, are taken into account.'

A Crown Estate spokesman played down the plans and said consultation was not due to start until the developer had been chosen in the autumn.

She said: 'There's nothing really to say at this stage. Everything is subject to the developers' research.

'The Crown Estate identified an area of coast off Dorset that we thought would be good for a wind farm.

'We are receiving applications from developers and when we haven chosen a developer the consultation will start. At the moment there is nothing to consult about.'

She said the number of turbines and the cost was unknown at present and the zone off the Dorset coast was one of several around Britain.

Any construction would start in 2014 and it could be in operation by 2018.