Cair Vie Resistance claims the government has misused “the Strategic Plan process to retrospectively justify” Manx Utilities’ onshore wind farm.
The group highlights that paper 5 of the Strategic Plan Preliminary Publicity 2025, confirms that a new exception is being proposed under General Policy 3 to allow wind farms in rural areas.
It explicitly references Manx Utilities’ wind farm proposal and states support for it even though the Strategic Plan has not yet been adopted:
“Update energy and waste policies, including a new section on renewable energy. There will also be consideration of allowing onshore wind farms as an exception under General Policy 3” on page 28 of paper 5.
“Manx Utilities is working towards generating renewable energy on Island. If a planning application for an onshore windfarm is submitted before the new strategic plan is approved, it will be assessed under current policies and material considerations. Regardless of timing, it is important that the principle of supporting onshore wind in Government strategy is clearly established” on page 30 of paper 5.
Retrofitting Policy
Cair Vie Resistance says this “exposes a clear self-interested attempt to write site specific planning policy before it is formally made; to align strategic policy with site specific decisions already taken behind closed doors”.
The group would strongly urge people to answer no to paper 4 question 8 of the Survey, that is:
“Do you support the inclusion of a new rural exception rule which would look to support the principle of renewable energy production such as on-shore wind farms and solar power?”
The resistance group adds: “Rather than allowing the public to shape the future of renewable energy through a fair and open planning process, the Government is using the Strategic Plan to backfill support for a predetermined industrial project on upland peatland. This is planning in reverse.”
Prejudged Planning
It added: “By embedding references to the Cair Vie wind farm in a supposedly strategic, neutral consultation document, the Cabinet Office and Manx Utilities have prejudged both the outcome of the Strategic Plan and any future planning decisions.
“This directly undermines public trust, procedural fairness, and the Island’s legal commitments under the Åarhus Convention and our Climate Change Act 2021.”
Cair Vie Resistance has submitted a formal response to the consultation.
“The public were promised a fair and lawful plan-making process. Instead, we’re seeing policy being weaponised to defend an environmentally destructive development on land that was put in trust for the Manx people” CVR spokesperson Kirrie Jenkins said.
The consultation is due to close on October 27.
