Introduction

In this chapter we present a case study on wind farm development, reinforcing an idea of the planning system as a potential medium for sustainability. In discussing the law and policy relating to wind farms, we highlight the difficulties from a planning perspective of securing the support of local people and local planning authorities for this category of development – the frequently vociferous local opposition to such developments being at odds with central planning guidance in support of wind farm projects. This issue suggests the limits of the possible positive contribution of public participation to environmental protection. It is also a good example of the central difficulty facing environmentalism – tempering individual preferences or freedom for the common good (or encouraging communitarianism over individualism). Patsy Healey presents this as a central problem of modernity: ‘The challenge for public life in our present times is how to reconcile the individualisation of cultural identity with recognition of commonality between individuals with different frames of reference, as well as different interests, in ways which do not trap us in modes of thought and practice which suppress our individual capacity to flourish.’ The general nature of the problem suggests that the legal and policy methods aimed at securing support for wind farm development may well be applied beyond this type of development.