Gelderland stands firm: a poultry farmer from Hengelo does not need an exemption for the two wind turbines on his company. The Party for the Animals (PvdD) believed that this was the case and asked questions to the Provincial Executive (GS) in early February.
The poultry farmer started using two small wind turbines in 2022. He went through the entire permit procedure at the municipality of Bronckhorst without any problems. Then the province came around the corner. Gelderland imposed a penalty because it believes that the ecological studies were not valid. Bats could fly into the blades of the windmills. This would then be contrary to the Nature Conservation Act (Wnb).
Exemption required
An objection to the enforcement action has been submitted to the Legal Protection Committee of Gelderland. He ruled that the provincial government should not have imposed a penalty. In its advice, the committee does not deny that an application for an exemption from the Wnb should have been submitted for the wind turbines.
The Party for the Animals believes that the poultry farmer should still apply for this and that this is still an illegal situation. ‘The extent to which sufficient measures can be taken to prevent the killing of birds and other animals can only be assessed after receipt of an exemption application.’
Additional research
Gelderland acknowledges that further research and possibly an exemption for the Wnb would be necessary. However, according to the province, this is no longer necessary, because the poultry farmer had additional research carried out at the end of last year. An ecologist has provided substantiation about the consequences of the two wind turbines on the birds and bats present.
This shows that no ecological effects are expected. ‘The provincial Legal Protection Commission therefore advised us that there were no grounds for enforcement and we have adopted that advice. This means that we do not expect a (new) application from the poultry farmer and have no grounds to demand one,” says GS. The province therefore maintains in its answers to the written questions that it previously decided that there is no need to enforce it.
Future
The Party for the Animals is of the opinion that the poultry farmer acted negligently. ‘It is the entrepreneur’s responsibility to have arranged all necessary permits and exemptions before trading. Do you share our concern that the image that the poultry farmer has been ‘trapped’ by the municipality and province is at odds with the responsibility of all entrepreneurs to have permits and exemptions in order?’
GS answers: ‘The fact is and remains that every initiator is in any case responsible for his activity and its consequences. In this case, the initiator acted correctly by hiring an ecologist, but shortcomings occurred during the translation from municipality to province.’
New requests
The province wants to prevent similar situations in the future. That is why it has agreed with municipalities that the underlying ecological research must be submitted to Gelderland for all new permit applications for wind turbines on farmyards. Even if there is no immediate reason for this. ‘This way we have an active overview of the licensing for wind turbines on the farm and we can manage at the front. In this way we can prevent a procedure such as in the present case,” the Provincial Executive concludes.
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