Plight of a Leeds man demonstrates planning problems

A resident of Leeds how wants to install a wind turbine on his semi-detached home in Leeds is facing a long delay to get the required planning permission.  Mike Collins, 66, of Armley, had thought the council would be happy with his proposal and that he would get permission quickly,  however he has experienced two months of delays.

Apparently the council have raised concerns about the potential for noise issues with the wind turbine. Mr. Collins has even gone as far as submitted an engineer’s report which describes the device as “phenomenally quiet”, paid for a site visit to try to speed up a decision, and can’t now understand why  permission has not been granted.

The council states that because this is the first application of its kind they do have to make sure they get this right and that;

“We are pleased to receive, and would positively encourage, such sustainable energy initiatives and are confident that we will make a decision on this application in the very
near future.”

This is all well and good but haven’t council planning offices thought about the concept of best practice? Why is it that every council has to spend months evaluating all the issues surrounding applications like this when they receive their first application? The impact on appearance, surrounding residential amenities and likely noise levels etc. can surely be done at a national level and referred to by local offices.

More details on the Leedstoday site