Wind turbine plans at Newstead and Annesley Country Park given green light

The visitor centre at Newstead and Annesley Country Park.

Councillors on Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee granted permission for the turbine to be installed at Newstead and Annesley Country Park earlier this month.

And the work carried out to erect it will create an opportunity for other essential works to be completed to the park’s visitor centre - enabling it to finally open its doors.

Robert Crowder, the chief executive at Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire, which operates the country park, said there were two reasons why they needed the wind turbine.

“The first is we need some power to the visitor centre and the turbine will provide us with power.

“Also by digging the trench to get the cable in, we can put the water pipes in, so it should enable us to get the visitor centre open,” he said.

“The second thing is that the turbine brings in a regular income.

“This is absolutely essential as the country park doesn’t have any income from Government or anything.

“It has to generate its own income and it takes a fair chunk of money each year to keep it going.”

The wind turbine will be built on green belt but has been granted planning permission because the application demonstrated ‘very special circumstances’ which override the usual ban on development on this type of land.

It is estimated that the turbine will generate enough electricity to power more than 700 homes, and this will be fed into the national grid.

The income to the country park will be from a rent of around £30,000 paid by the company that owns the turbine.

Mr Crowder said that the decision to allow the development will avoid further delays to the visitor centre.

“It’s a huge decision. It will start [the project] moving again, as it has been pretty slow the last two or three years because of a lack of money,” he said.

As a result of the wind turbine being installed, a community fund for local projects of £7,500 will also be set up.

It is thought that the wind turbine will be operational in approximately a year’s time.