Artefacts, the Gaze and Sensory Experience: Mediating Local Environments in the Planning Regulation of Major Renewable Energy Infrastructure in England and Wales

Major Wind Energy & the Interface of Policy and Regulation: A Study of Welsh NSIPs

“…The rest of the ESRC-funded study data that was not used in this article has been reported on in other publications (Lee, 2017;Natarajan et al, 2018Natarajan et al, , 2019Rydin et al, 2018bRydin et al, , 2017Rydin et al, , 2018cLee et al, 2018;Rydin et al, 2018a). The findings indicated strong dissatisfaction amongst the public, including concerns over the representation of different interests (Rydin et al, 2018b(Rydin et al, , 2018c and acknowledgement of spatial distribution impacts (Natarajan et al, 2019), which supports the present line of enquiry.…”

Silences, categories and black-boxes: Towards an analytics of the relations of power in planning regulation

“…They had the benefit of a middle-class community based in one of the wealthiest property markets in southern England including professional expertise relevant to a planning dispute. This contrasted with the residential communities found in the other cases (Rydin et al, 2018a).…”

“…Some noted the limited opportunity to ask questions they felt were important, including on measures for monitoring the implementation of the DCO and its conditions. The research found particular issues with local business involvement (Rydin et al, 2018a). Consultation with local businesses was uneven with fishing interests faring better than other sectors such as leisure/tourism due to the existence of a national-level protocol for engagement.…”

“…The second concerns the consideration of project impacts. Research pointed to the relative silence on the local socio-economic impacts of NSIPs (Rydin 2018a). These are often presented as uncertain with developers making vague commitments concerning local employment and supply chains.…”

“…Categorisation of impacts runs repeatedly throughout ExAs' reports as a means of justifying decision-making. In the case of landscape and seascape assessments, for example, visual impact analyses are undertaken by expert consultants, using a variety of visualising methodologies and producing artefacts such as maps, plans, photos and montages (Rydin et al, 2017). These depict the existing physical environment in specific ways (from certain angles, using certain technology, etc.)…”