National Assembly for Wales
P-03-068 - Save Our Scenery: Rhyl Flats Petition
Petition received: 14 August 2007
Lead Petitioner: Mrs Janet Howarth
Number of Petitioners: 10
Petition Wording:
We the undersigned, representing the Residents and the Tourism business community of Llandudno, Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay request that the National Assembly, as a matter of extreme urgency, seek ways to halt Npower’s activities in and around the Constable Bank, off Rhos-Point, where they propose to locate an Off-shore Wind Farm (4-5 miles off shore) and fully investigate the actions of Npower, over their involvement in the ‘Rhyl Flats’ Wind Farm project.
We consider that there has been a grave planning blunder in the decision to grant a licence to construct this off shore wind farm.
The planning licence granted to COWL in November 2002 was granted in haste, the said licence was later sold on to Npower.
This we believe gave rise to insufficient consideration being given to the potential that the Rhyl Flats Wind Farm project would have upon;
1. The damage to the marine environment
2. The detrimental impact on the tourism business of North Wales provoking an economic downturn and with it the costly social consequences attendant upon such a downturn.
3. Industrialisation of this area of natural beauty which is listed as an area for Special Conservation – a Heritage Coast.
The licence was granted by the Dti, but we assert that this issue should be dealt with by the National Assembly, under the extended powers, recently granted to the Assembly.
The Assembly should be charged with requesting planning control powers over All Wind Farm developments, both on and off-shore, in order that the people Wales have control over developments which impact on their communities.
The National Assembly for Wales would have been responsible for the granting of a licence under Section 5 of the Food & Environment Protection Act 1985 relating to this project and we question whether such a licence would have been granted if they had been made fully aware of the destructive potential of this project.
Presently, Npower, are depositing tonnes of waste slate material on the ‘Constable Bank’, which is situated off the little Orme in Llandudno Bay.
The Constable Bank was so named by the Victorian Engineers who built our original sea defences when Llandudno the ‘Queen of Welsh Resorts’ was first planned. The name was chosen because it means, watchman, a guardian, one who protects. This massive natural sand and shingle bank protects the communities of Llandudno, Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay from the worst of our seasonal high tides.
Since 2002, awareness and understanding of flood risks has grown. The consequences of interfering with natural flood protection are now better understood and we could urge the National Assembly to review this flood risk as a matter of urgency.
We are calling upon the National Assembly for Wales to seek ways to halt any further damage to the Constable Bank. We believe that the evidence presented by the developers regarding the potential environmental, economic and social impacts of their plans offers insufficient guarantees to this local community.
We believe the National Assembly for Wales should invoke the “Precautionary Principle” and as a matter of urgency seek to halt any further damage to the Constable Bank.
In the meantime, the activities off Rhos Point and Llandudno Bay should be halted until the Assembly have completed their investigations.
Petition Status: Closed on 2 October 2008
Link to Completion Report for P-03-068 (PDF, 579KB)
Petitions Committee Consideration:
- 20 September 2007
Link to the transcript of the meeting on 20 September 2007
- 21 February 2008
Link to the transcript of the meeting on 21 February 2008
- 6 March 2008
Link to the transcript of the meeting on 6 March 2008
- 11 June 2008
Link to the transcript of the meeting on 11 June 2008
- 9 July 2008
Link to the transcript of the meeting on 9 July 2008
- 2 October 2008
