UK: Policy paper: Policy statement on onshore wind Published 8 July 2024

1. Delivering our clean power mission will help boost Britain’s energy independence, save money on energy bills, support high-skilled jobs and tackle the climate crisis. We are therefore committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030. That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015. We are revising planning policy to place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy development in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

2. Currently, planning policy includes two tests, set out in footnotes 57 and 58 to paragraph 163 of the NPPF, that apply only to onshore wind. Together they say that development can only be considered acceptable:

a. In areas either allocated in a development plan or through Local Development Orders, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders. This sets a higher bar than is set for other forms of development.

b. With the narrow exception of proposals brought forward by Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders, where the proposal has proved community support. In practice this has often been interpreted to mean that any opposition means the proposal cannot be considered acceptable.

3. These policy tests no longer apply. The removal of these tests from planning policy means that onshore wind applications will be treated in the same way as other energy development proposals.

4. These changes take effect today (8 July 2024). The government will confirm this position to Parliament on 18 July, following the State Opening. These changes will also be reflected in the forthcoming NPPF update.

5. Through that update we will go further and set our proposals for wider changes to support renewable energy development. Alongside this we will consult on bringing large onshore proposals into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime, to support quick determination, followed by a revised National Policy Statement. Local communities will play an essential part in delivering this mission and we will empower them to participate in decisions on local infrastructure. Communities should rightly benefit from hosting local renewable energy infrastructure and that is why we will shortly publish an update to the Community Benefits Protocol for Onshore Wind in England.

Annotated NPPF extract

162. In determining planning applications, local planning authorities should expect new development to:

a) comply with any development plan policies on local requirements for decentralised energy supply unless it can be demonstrated by the applicant, having regard to the type of development involved and its design, that this is not feasible or viable; and

b) take account of landform, layout, building orientation, massing and landscaping to minimise energy consumption.

163. When determining planning applications ⁵⁷ for renewable and low carbon development, local planning authorities should:

a) not require applicants to demonstrate the overall need for renewable or low carbon energy, and recognise that even small-scale projects provide a valuable contribution to significant cutting greenhouse gas emissions;

b) approve the application if its impacts are (or can be made) acceptable ⁵⁸. Once suitable areas for renewable and low carbon energy have been identified in plans, local planning authorities should expect subsequent applications for commercial scale projects outside these areas to demonstrate that the proposed location meets the criteria used in identifying suitable areas; and

c) in the case of applications for the repowering and life-extension of existing renewable sites, give significant weight to the benefits of utilising an established site, and approve the proposal if its impacts are or can be made acceptable.

Footnotes to paragraph 163 (no longer apply)

57 (no longer applies) Wind energy development involving one or more turbines can also be permitted through Local Development Orders, Neighbourhood Development Orders and Community Right to Build Orders. In the case of Local Development Orders, it should be demonstrated that the planning impacts identified by the affected local community have been appropriately addressed and the proposal has community support. 

58 (no longer applies) Except for applications for the repowering and life-extension of existing wind turbines, a planning application for wind energy development involving one or more turbines should not be considered acceptable unless it is in an area identified as suitable for wind energy development in the development plan or a supplementary planning document; and, following consultation, it can be demonstrated that the planning impacts identified by the affected local community have been appropriately addressed and the proposal has community support.

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