Wind farm plans 'slap in face'

21 June 2011 Last updated at 10:19 GMT Planning applications for major developments are decided in London First Minister Carwyn Jones says having the UK government decide on future wind farm plans is a "slap in the face" for Wales.

His spokesman said it was ridiculous that the people of Wales cannot decide on such matters.

On Monday the UK government denied there is ongoing discussion on devolving power on big energy schemes.

Mr Jones had said UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry confirmed he would consider calls for greater powers.

But a spokesman for Mr Hendry said it was discussed last year, and further devolution of power had been ruled out.

Mr Jones had raised the issue at the British-Irish Council summit.

The latest twist on Monday came after the Welsh Government said its UK counterpart had agreed to consider a request to transfer the power to decide major energy projects to Wales.

Mr Jones said it was unacceptable that planning decisions on wind farms in Wales were being taken in London.

But a spokesman for Mr Hendry said there had been a referendum on further powers for the assembly in March, and there were "no current proposals to make further changes to the Welsh devolution settlement".

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By Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst

The UK government's refusal to grant devolved powers to Wales over major wind energy installations is no surprise.

Shifting the policy would constitute a major change to the devolution settlement, and could cause big problems for renewable energy targets.

In fact at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) they're wondering if the Welsh Government's statement on wind energy contains an element of posturing.

The statement opposes "over-capacity" from wind farms without defining overcapacity. "Everyone of course opposes over-capacity", the Whitehall source told me, "but what do they mean?"

The statement says wind farms should not exceed projections in the Tan 8 strategy. But the Whitehall source argued that Tan 8 allowed several different permutations.

What's more, there's a lack of clarity over Cardiff's attitude to pylons. The statement opposes "large pylons" in mid Wales.

But this opposition could simply be placated if National Grid agreed to bury the cables leading from the projected new sub-station at Abermule of Cefn Coch. That would protect views in the Severn Valley.

What's exercising locals is the prospect of smaller pylons carrying electricity to the sub-station across the hilltops.

This issue is not addressed in the statement. It proves yet again that all energy sources are troublesome one way or another.

He added: "The policy on devolving energy powers to the assembly remains the same as it did under the previous Westminster government. Charles Hendry explained he had set out the position in November and it remained the same today."

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it had had constructive discussions previously with Welsh ministers.

But UK ministers had decided "that they should continue to be responsible for major energy infrastructure decisions in England and Wales" via a streamlined process "that minimises delays and ensures investor confidence is best delivered through a unified planning system".

A spokesman for Mr Jones said: "The statement by DECC is a slap in the face for the people of Wales.

"By stating this the UK Government has now made it clear that they will in future take decisions over wind farms in Wales and consequently this is nothing to do with the Welsh Government.

"It's a ridiculous state of affairs that the people of Wales cannot decide on such matters. Why are the UK Government so afraid of Welsh people having control over their own energy resources, like they do in Scotland?"

He added that it was "interesting to note" that in a press conference in London on Monday the deputy prime minister did not rule out further devolution on energy.

"As far as the Welsh Government is concerned, discussions on these matters are most definitely ongoing."

Last week the Welsh Government announced plans to limit the number of wind farm developments, in the seven so-called Tan 8 areas.

It followed a big campaign in mid Wales against National Grid plans for a 19-acre substation and miles of pylons to serve new wind farm developments and any more turbines to add to the 200 already operating in Powys.

In May 1,500 people protested at the Senedd in Cardiff.

Plaid Cymru said Mr Jones and Labour "needed to make a firm commitment to pushing for the devolution of all energy, water and crown estates or else their calls would appear weak".

"Plaid Cymru would obviously support the devolution of energy in its entirety as it is something we have backed for many years, even when Labour were opposing us in Westminster," said the Plaid Cymru leader and party spokesperson for constitutional issues, Ieuan Wyn Jones.

"Anything short of full commitment on this issue would be pretty meaningless."

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'Bizarre' seal plans under fire

16 June 2011 Last updated at 09:27 GMT By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News Harbour seals are declining around Scotland as a whole, for unknown reasons The Scottish government is coming under fire from environmental groups over plans to protect coastal sites used by only half of the nation's seals.

Numbers of harbour (or common) seals are declining, and campaigners say not protecting all the sites where they haul themselves onto land is "bizarre".

The government says it wants a balance that does not impact "other sustainable activities around the coast".

Its consultation on seal haul-out sites ends next week.

In the sites it designates, seals would be protected from "harrassment", under measures contained in the Marine Act passed last year.

The Scottish government is keen to leave space for industries such as fish farming to develop

But Vassili Papastavrou, a biologist with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), said protecting sites used by only half of the seals was "bizarre".

"The government suggests that allowing intentional harassment of seals on about half of their haul-out sites is part of some kind of 'balance' between seals and other sustainable activities," he said.

"But how could an activity that forces a top predator from the local ecosystem ever meet criteria for 'sustainability'?"

These "sustainable" activities could include industries such as fish-farming.

Elaine Murray, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dumfriesshire, fought to have haul-out sites recognised in the Marine Act, and is concerned that only half of the seals would be covered.

"This is very odd - it seems to me to be contrary to the intention of the Act to protect only 50% of the common seal haul-out sites - especially when it's the population of common seals which is a cause for concern," she told BBC News.

"To my recollection, there was no discussion on limiting the number of haul-out sites covered by the harassment offence when this was being discussed during the passage of the Act."

Balance issue The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) is found on the shores of the UK and other northern European countries, down the east and west coasts of North America, and on the east coast of Russia and Japan.

Globally, it is not threatened, with numbers estimated at five to six million.

But in northern Scotland, numbers have declined sharply - by about 60% during the last decade in Orkney and Shetland.

The other species that lives around Scottish shores, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), has expanded in recent decades.

The reasons behind these trends, and whether the fortunes of the two species are linked, are not well understood.

Data on Scotland's seal population is compiled by Callan Duck from the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at St Andrews University.

He told BBC News that "it would probably be a good idea" to protect all the sites where harbour seals haul themselves onto land, given the population shrinkage.

Seals haul themselves onto land for a number of reasons, including reproduction

The government asked SMRU to draw up a list of priority sites for protection, and this document - seen by BBC News - makes clear that the decision to aim for 50% coverage was the government's.

"Enough sites were identified to contain at least 50% of each Seal Management Area's most recent count of harbour and grey seals," it reads.

"The Scottish Government decided that this would offer a good balance between maximising protection while minimising possible impacts on other sustainable activities around the coast."

The provisional list contains 146 haul-out sites, including 101 used by harbour seals.

The consultation document says it is "intended to provide a focus for discussion.

"It may be that some stakeholders will wish to suggest additional sites be added to the list for consideration or, alternatively, to suggest that some sites currently on the list should be removed."

The consultation closes on Tuesday 21 June, and Elaine Murray is urging people concerned by the plans to send their comments to the Scottish government by then.

A government spokeswoman said all responses would be welcomed.

"The draft list of seal haul-outs sites set out in the consultation paper sought to record those containing the highest concentrations of each species of seal," she said.

"This list was considered a useful starting point for the consultation, but the latter makes very clear that the list is not fixed and may be increased or reduced following consideration of consultation responses."

But Callan Duck is also keen to secure more protection for seals at European level.

"All cetaceans have been designated as protected species by the EU - seals don't have the same protection, even though they're considerably less numerous than some cetacean species," he said.

"So a more fundamental question is: why don't they have that same protection? Why are they second-class citizens?"

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