A 90-metre-high meteorological mast got the green light at a Denbighshire County Council planning committee meeting. 

RWE Renewables submitted an application to erect a weather mast for three years to collect wind data to assess whether the field at Mynydd Mynyllod, Llandrillo, near Corwen, is suitable for a wind farm.  

If RWE Renewables decide to proceed with a wind farm, they will have to submit a separate planning application.  

Objecting to the plans, Cllr Merfyn Parry argued an application for a wind farm and the mast should come in as one single planning application – and he wanted this to be recorded as the reason for the council’s objection.  

Cllr Parry complained Denbighshire would have little say if a future wind farm application was submitted, as that would be decided at Welsh Government level. 

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But legal officers advised this reason would likely leave the council vulnerable to an appeal; however, a decision was eventually made after much deliberation over the details of the vote, and eleven councillors voted in favour of the mast to five against – who cited the visual impact as the reason. 

Cllr Gwyneth Ellis said she was worried about the visual impact of the mast and any future wind farm.  

“To begin with, I appreciate the company have done a visual review of this mast, which shows where the mast will be visible, but as far as I can see, it shows the mast will be seen clearly from the villages, and I don’t think the residents are very happy,” she said. 

“From speaking with the residents, they are finding it very difficult to differentiate between this request and the idea of a wind farm that is going to follow, so I think that local residents are very concerned about the issue. Personally, I was having difficulty differentiating between the two. I’m concerned about this because of the visual impact it is going to have on the villages.” 

 The planning committee meeting deferred their initial decision in January before RWE Renewables resubmitted with a more detailed application, having completed a ‘landscape and visual appraisal’ in support of their application. 

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The site lies approximately 4.5km from the boundary of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Natural Beauty and 5.5km from Snowdonia National Park. 

Llandrillo Community Council was also opposed to the plans, insisting the mast will have a detrimental impact on the surrounding landscape. 

The Ministry of Defence has insisted that the mast is fitted with aviation warning lights. 

Residents have also written to Denbighshire to oppose the plans. They said the mast would have an adverse impact on tourism, affecting the character of the surrounding landscape.