LUC was asked by Nuon Renewables to provide landscape and visual expert witness services for a proposed wind farm in Leicestershire. The wind farm will help England meet its renewable energy targets.
LUC was an integral part of the team, where client, legal advisors and expert witnesses worked together to prepare for the Inquiry. We carried out an updated landscape and visual assessment and a cumulative assessment and ensured evidence was accurate, robust and consistent, so as to ensure the Inspector had all the information before him so as to make a decision on the case.
A key challenge was the approach to the assessment of effects upon the visual amenity of local residents which surround the site, for which we developed and refined a specific methodology, using our 3D digital modelling capabilities to prepare wireline visualisations from each property.
The hard work was rewarded as the proposed wind farm was consented by the Secretary of State upon appeal, on the basis of the evidence given. The client was pleased with the result, and with LUC’s work, which led to a positive decision for the project:
Will Wason, Project Manager at Nuon Renewables for the Swinford Wind Farm said, “We were delighted with the work undertaken by LUC. Their team carried out an extremely detailed and diligent review of the work to date, plus they produced a number of additional photomontages etc. Marc van Grieken proved to be an excellent witness on the stand, and I would not hesitate to use him again.”
