First nod of approval for planning blueprint
A plan for the future of Powys that has been seven years in the making has moved a stop closer after it was approved by cabinet members.
Powys County Council's Local Development Plan sets out future locations for solar and wind energy, housing, business development, employments sites, and farm diversification.
Work began in 2011 and after the first draft was rejected, campaigners fought against another proposal, which included plans for wind turbines across the county.
The wind energy target for the county was reduced last year, meaning that fewer wind turbines are now required. As a result the plan is now nearing completion after planning inspector Nicola Gulley ruled that the current document, is a 'sound and an appropriate basis for planning in Powys to 2026.
Last week cabinet member for planning, councillor Martin Weale insisted he was confident the changes made in the plan would meet the national policy and the council would be able to adopt the plan.
A cabinet meeting on Tuesday agreed to support the plans, which will now go forward to be ratified at a full council meeting taking place on April 17.
Leader, councillor Rosemarie Harris said: "I've chaired the LDP working group in the past, and every possible question has been asked about the plan to allow us to get to this stage."
A big issue in the plans were with regards to wind and solar energy.
After large protests, the wind energy target was cut last year by 90 per cent, and instead 20 areas for suitable solar development were listed.
Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies, who campaigned against the Mid Wales Connection Project in recent years said he hopes that when plans are rubber stamped by the council next week, the prospect of large scale wind developments in the county will end.
However, next week's full council meeting might not be straightforward, after Geoffrey Sinclair, who runs Environment Information Services called on councillors to reject the plan in its current form, as he believes the method used to identify 20 areas where solar farms could be built is flawed, and could lead to large scale solar farms being built in upland areas.
Other topics in the report state 5,500 new homes need to be built before 2016, with 1,500 of them being affordable homes to meet the county's housing supply.
