I fully agree with Steffan on that matter, absolutely.

It would seem that it’s not only environmental regulations that offer no protection to such developments; those surrounding wildlife and archaeological impacts, as well as outdoor leisure facilities, do not either. We understand that only a cursory one-day-long study on the impact on the wildlife habitat of the area was carried out and, surprise, surprise, it concluded that there would be no significant impact on local wildlife. This, despite the local area being a breeding site for such endangered species as the skylark. The erection of a wind turbine close to a site that an archaeological expert called ‘of significant interest’ again shows there is little protection when these projects are considered. We can add to this environmental disaster the fact that the wind turbines and the solar arrays encroach within yards of the local amenity and beauty spot of Pen-y-fan pond. Little wonder then that the inhabitants of Manmoel and nearby Oakdale believe there is an ‘anything goes’ attitude to these developments.

If an environment can be despoiled by the illegal felling of trees, if wildlife habitat can be ignored, if sites of archaeological interest can be dismissed, and local outdoor amenities have no significance, it indicates a wild-west attitude to planning regulation where projects of this scale are being considered. What price to the people of Wales for this elimination of our carbon footprint, which, again, let us remind ourselves, amounts to just 0.04 per cent of the global total?