Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Senedd at 1:33 pm on 22 June 2016.
Minister, I’ve asked you previously about the community benefits of renewable energy schemes. I’ll ask you again because it is a very important issue for my constituents. When a solar farm was being planned at Llanvapley between Monmouth and Abergavenny in my area, it was opposed by local people. After it was passed, they subsequently found that they’d lost the opportunity to lobby for the community benefits that are normally associated with such schemes, and the company involved has been largely non-responsive to their inquiries. I appreciate there is a non-devolved aspect to this, but can you tell me in what ways the Welsh Government is looking to strengthen these procedures and guidelines so that companies can’t avoid providing valuable community benefits when schemes are built in communities?