Hoy Pre-Application Consultation - May/June 2020
What happened?
We carried out a pre-application consultation on 'Orkney's Community Wind Farm Project - Hoy' between May and June 2020, with a planning application subsequently submitted in October 2020. You can read more about the submission of the planning application here.
As the development is classed as a 'major development' there was a requirement to submit a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to the planning authority and carry out a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC).
The objective of the PAC is for communities to be better informed about major and national development proposals and to have an opportunity to contribute their views before a formal planning application is submitted to the planning authority.
It should be noted that comments made to OIC through this PAC process were not representations to the planning authority. Now that the planning application has been submitted, neighbour notification and publicity will be undertaken, and individuals and communities will have an opportunity to make representations on that application to the planning authority at that time.
Why did we consult online and not hold a public exhibition?
As the development is classed as a 'major development' there was a requirement to submit a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to the planning authority and carry out a Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) – which usually would include a public event or exhibition.
A public event had been planned for Hoy to take place in March 2020, but this was cancelled due to the ongoing restrictions put in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Scottish Government subsequently introduced emergency legislation which allowed pre-application consultation to take place without a physical public event, recognising the economic need to keep the planning system functioning, and also the uncertainty around when restrictions might be lifted.
That is particularly important for this project given the tight deadline we have been given if we want to meet the Needs Case conditions set out by OFGEM to secure a new electricity interconnector for Orkney. If we didn't keep moving towards submitting an application, we significantly risked wasting the resources that had been put into this project to date.
As an alternative, we put considerable effort into designing a consultation which we hope reached as many people as possible and gave everyone the opportunity to understand the proposals and to make your opinions heard.
How can I view the consultation material?
Downloadable and printable versions of the project information are available from the Related Downloads section of this webpage. The 'Hoy PAC Consultation Boards' document is the public exhibition material and the 'Hoy PAC - Guide to Consultation Boards' is an explanation of each board. It is important that you read both in order to gain a full understanding of the project. We have also included the maps from the document in a larger size. These are also available the Related Downloads section of this web page. You can view a video presentation of the boards on this web page.
