Open Meeting of Community Councils
to discuss Towy/Teifi, Towy/Usk & Vyrnwy Frankton projects
Including: Pylons, Wind Farms and Sub-station Proposals
13/01/26 – Minutes of meeting
Attendees:
Llanfair Clydogau and Cellan Community Council
Dave Bartholomew (meeting chair)
Llanfair Clydogau and Cellan Community Council
Simon Aldridge
Llangunnor Community Council
Scott Bayes
Llanwrtyd Wells Town Council
Cheryl Hood
Llanwrtyd Wells Town Council
James Davies
Llanllawddog Community Council
Andrew Rees
Llanfirangel ar Arth
Angela James
Apologies
Sue Lilly (Llangammarch Community Council)
Nicola Jones (Llandyfaelog Community Council)
Mark Hammond (Builth Wells Town Council)
Havard Hughes (Llanllawddog Community Council)
Agenda.
1. Green Gen (Pylons) response to second consultation feedback
• Standing item, review/discussion of any received
2. Nant Mithil energy park planning application update
3. Senedd protest being organised by action groups – Feb 11th
4. Round table update/information sharing from councils attending.
Open
Green Gen (Pylons) response to second consultation feedback
No responses have been received.
Nant Mithil energy park planning application update
• The application determination period was suspended on 17th December, a few days before the public representation window was due to close, in order to ‘…allow PEDW to review the availability of redacted information and consult with additional consultees…’.
• As of the date of this meeting there have been 363 Interested Party Representations’ the majority of which are against the application.
• The MoD have responded and have not objected, although they have stipulated that certain potential issues (to low flying aircraft) must be assessed and satisfactorily addressed.
• Note the following detail has been added after the meeting and re-checking the PEDW website (Planning Casework.Service – CAS-01907-D7Q6Z1) On the 12th January, PEDW rules that no further action is required. However, three additional consultees have been added; Shropshire Council, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, and The Georgian Group. Therefore the consultation period will remain open till 16 February 2026.
• The question was raised as to whether PEDU would have time to consider the application properly and make a ruling before the purdah period leading into the Senedd elections in early May.
Senedd protest being organised by action groups – Feb 11th
• A mass protest is being organized by various local groups (the initial call was made by Llanwrtyd Wells anti Pyloin and turbine Action Group) for a demonstration outside of the Sennedd in Cardiff at midday, about the large-scale wind-farm and grid proposals across Wales (initial facebook post). The date has been picked to align with a Senedd debate on the morning of Feb 11 on matters relating to climate change, the environment and infrastructure. The following day the Senedd goes into recess until 23rd Feb. The protest also falls before lambing season.
• Local communities and groups are being contacted to organize representation and transport to maximise support and attendance.
Round table update/information sharing from councils attending.
• The local ‘discontent’ amongst communities about the way Green Gen have been entering upon land and ‘generally making a nuisance of themselves’ and using threating behavior was noted. In addition, the serious adverse impact upon, and the need to protect, the Welsh countryside and Welsh land was also raised as a major concern
• Some councils (and individual councilors) are considering their position with respect to offering support to concerned local community members and, as a result and if appropriate, local action groups within their community
• An article in the Times (Sat 10th January – article online link) highlighted that constraint payments (made to compensate windfarm operators when the turbines have to be switched off because the grid cannot cope with the load) in Scotland this year have run into hundreds of millions of pounds. It was also highlighted in the Daily Express and the Telegraph this week of an alleged £7.6 to £9 trillion ‘hidden cost’ to UK wide Net Zero initiatives.
• It was noted that accessing the Justice for Wales website (Justice for Wales website) is a very good way of keeping up to date with progress on the Judicial Review against Green Gen and their ‘Land Consent Agents’ (ref. Carter Jonas – Carter Jonas).
Additional discussion points
It was noted that:
• The minutes from all previous meetings have been shared with community councils and should be available either as a published document on the council website or on request from the council clerk. If there are any problems with access, the chair of these meetings will be able to provide copies of all previous minutes on request.
• The courts are soon due to rule (decision expected by end of January/start of February) if there is a case to be heard in the Judicial Review raised into Green Gen. (Shropshire Star 19th January). It was suggested that the application for a Judicial Review has ‘shaken’ Green Gen and that if the application and the review itself are successful that will be significant in calling for Ofgem to reconsider the grant of the energy transmission license to Green Gen. It was further noted that for the past two years Green Gen have organized their consultations around this time of year and that this year it is noticeable that, as yet, nothing has been announced regarding the final, statuary consultation.
o Note the following detail has been added after the meeting: The Justice for Wales Facebook page (Justice For Wales FB) is reporting, after the hearing, that permission has been given for the Judicial Review to go ahead with costs by each party being capped. The capping of costs seems significant as at previous court hearings launched by Green Gen against individual landowners, legal costs of £50,000 were threatened to be sought by Green Gen against any landowner who went to court and lost.
• There have been concerns raised around the proposed energy park in the area of Upper Chappel (Parc Ynni Banc y Celyn). Some of these concerns relate to proximity of the development to the perimeter of the MoD, it is believed that there is no development permitted of any structure within 10km of the boundary of the military ranges. It is believed that a previous development some years ago (1970’s) in the area between Llanddewi Brefi and Llyn Brianne may have been turned down because the MoD objected. The development may have been stopped by an act of parliament. But at this point no further detail is available.
• It was suggested that although the increase in capacity of the grid, in generation and transmission is required to better support current usage, it will increase greatly in the future as society moves towards electric cars, and heat-pumps to heat houses, and also the introduction of AI data centers which consume immense levels or power and also water to cool them. This will add to the fragile energy and water infrastructure within the UK.
• Moves to organize a hustings in Lampeter in February/March continue (given the February recess, March is a more likely option.
• Llanfair Clydogau and Cellan Community Council are looking to organize ‘drop-in’ events within the community in order to gain an more complete understanding of local opinion of the proposed energy infrastructure developments which affect out council area (132kv overhead power lines carried by 45 pylons through our council area, the Lan Fawr Energy Park, the Waun Maenllwyd Wind Energy Hub, the Bryn Rhudd Energy Park, the Nant Ceiment Energy Park and the Bryn Cadwgan Energy Park). The primary aim is to give background to any points raised by council on planning applications which we may comment on. Correctly documented views from the public to support council representations will be a vital component of any comment on a planning application if they are to be given due consideration. A further aim of the ‘drop-in’ is to allow a local voice on issues which may be raised at a local hustings (NHS access/provision, Rural transport services and infrastructure Tourism, Farming, etc.). It was suggested other Town and Community Councils may wish to hold similar ‘drop-in’ sessions and the offer was made to share thoughts and plans for an event with other councils should they wish to do so. Again, interested councils should contact the chair.
• The question was raised as to why there are no agenda items on wind-farms and pylons on the OVW (One Voice Wales) regular meetings. Previous attempts to raise the matter at OVW (Ceredigion area committee) meetings have not always been successful, although some discussion of pylon plans has been raised at Carmarthenshire area committee. It was noted that these meetings themselves, were launched because to a lack of any response (total silence) from OVW to a request to hold a ‘Wales wide’ meeting of Town and Community Councils to discuss this issue. The meetings have grown since the first meeting in January 2025 to the current invite list to 36 Town and Community Councils on the three pylon lines proposed by Green Gen through Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Powys.
• It was suggested that all councils on the distribution list for this meeting (and others with close links) write to OVW and ask why this national issue is not on their agenda? Why it is not being discussed? And to request that OVW do support affected councils who represent communities who are impacted by these developments and are objecting to them. A template letter will be designed and presented for review at the next meeting, if accepted it will be sent to all councils on the distribution list.
o Note the following detail has been added after the meeting: in Scotland community councils are making similar representation but they are doing so after many developments have been approved and undertaken and the full scale of the impact is no longer in doubt see:
o 53 community councils demand Scottish highland energy projects pause
o Community councils back calls for a moratorium on more onshore renewables in south of Scotland
o Borders community councils to join forces amid surge of renewable energy applications
• There was a request to send a notice in advance of the publication of the formal minutes to make all councils aware of the Senedd protest, to ensure that as many councils are aware and can add it to the agenda for discussion at their next council meeting.
Next Meeting 7.30pm on Tuesday 17th February 2026.