Dorset County Council and Bournemouth Borough Council have voiced their opinion on the Navitus Bay proposal in regard to the examining process at the UK Planning Inspectorate, stating that the Turbine Mitigation Option (TMO) should be submitted and considered by the Inspectorate as a completely new application, the Dorset Echo news site informs.
The TMO has been submitted along with the original plan to lessen some of the impacts that the project could have on its surroundings. It proposes 105 turbines 11 miles off the coast, while the full-scale plan comprises 194 turbines 9 miles offshore.
“Navitus submitted the revised plans at the request of the Planning Inspectorate and therefore should be considered as part of the current inspection,” the Bournemouth Echo quotes Angela Pooley from East Dorset Friends of the Earth as saying.
Pooley added that the submission of a new separate proposal is just what the opponents of the offshore wind project want, since it would delay the final decision.
The examination period for the Navitus Bay project closes on Wednesday, March 11.
Offshore WIND Staff; Image: Navitus Bay