WALES: Carwyn stops sleep-walking over TAN8, says Bates (Green Liberal Democrats)

WALES: Carwyn stops sleep-walking over TAN8, says Bates

November 4, 2003 12:00 AM

Mick Bates AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, today praised Carwyn Jones for waking from his sleep-walk and bringing TAN8 to the top of his report in the Environment, Planning and Countryside committee this week.

He said: "Last week we were told that TAN8 was operational and then informed that it wouldn't be published until 2004 - one or the other is correct, not both - and hopefully Carwyn will be able to tell us this week when we will have planning guidelines for building windfarms across Wales".

Technical advice note 8 is the useful planning guidance supplied by the National Assembly for those companies and groups who wish to build and supply renewable energy resources. TAN8 strikes a balance between excessive impact on the landscape and amenity, it allows us to recognise that not all renewables developments are environmentally benign.

"Wales' has the very real potential to be self-sufficient in its energy supply, if Labour were to follow the previous Partnership Government's vision", said Mr. Bates, "Instead, we are falling behind Scotland's lead and losing out in the European market".

Notes to Editors:

The State of the Environment report claimed that TAN8 was operational, but later under oral and written questioning Carwyn Jones stated that it would not even be published until 2004.
State of the Environment report was jointly published by the Labour Assembly Government, the Environment Agency Wales, the Forestry Commission and the Countryside Council for Wales.

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