Written by Martin Glyn Murray
Mynydd Mynyllod, a mountain nestled in the picturesque region of North Wales, the upper Dee Valley, offers a unique glimpse into the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the region. Rising to a modest elevation of 393.7m, the mountain is surrounded by rolling hills, ancient woodlands, and meandering streams that define the Welsh landscape.
One of the most striking features of Mynydd Mynyllod is its relative seclusion. The summit provides breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, with vistas stretching towards the Berwyn Mountains and beyond.
The area surrounding Mynydd Mynyllod is steeped in Welsh history and folklore. The mountain itself is part of the broader landscape that has been shaped by centuries of human interaction, from the ancient Celts to the more recent agricultural communities. Remnants of ancient settlements, old stone walls, and pathways can still be found scattered across the landscape, offering a connection to Wales’ rich cultural past.
From RWE’s pre application planning documents, the “landscape assessment” for the proposed wind farm site:
“A wild and spiritual area and attractive views in and out. The area is classed as over 75% undisturbed for tranquillity and has a strong sense of place. A highly distinctive place with high scenic quality. The value is therefore high.”
Home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, its moorlands and woodlands provide habitats for birds such as red kites, lapwing, merlin, sparrow hawk, owls and the red listed curlew. For the developer curlew protection is a hugely difficult conundrum, much of the mountain is within Important Curlew Area 5, designated by Welsh Government as a “recovery area”. The developers make promises of mitigation by proposing alternative breeding land for the curlews, in the hope that the curlews will somehow realise that they would be better off relocating!
From RWE’s Gaerwen environmental impact documents: “…heathland is considered a UK priority habitat, the area of heath has been designated as a Wildlife Site for its biodiversity value. It has a high overall evaluation, so value is high.”
“Construction activity will include the clearance of woodland, upland and improved grassland, upland flushes, ferns and swamps, hedgerows, crops and watercourses, and replace that habitat with construction of hardstanding for 7 wind turbines, a substation and access tracks. The construction of the hardstanding for turbine 6 and 8, substation, a borrow pit area, access tracks, temporary hardstanding and earthworks will affect the woodland plantation, resulting in 9ha of tree clearance for its implementation.”
Since 2010, when Scottish Power proposed 25 turbines along the mountain range, there has been deep concern over the preservation of Mynydd Mynyllod’s natural environment. Like many other areas in Wales, it faces pressures from developments such as wind and solar farms and battery storage, as is the case with the Gaerwen project, which of course has sparked debates about the balance between green energy and the protection of scenic landscapes. When RWE were invited by landowners to tender for the project, there is no doubt that using the name of the mountain for the project would have reminded many of us in the valley of the strong campaign of 2010 – 14 “Stop The Exploitation Of Mynydd Mynyllod” (STEMM). Back then, Scottish Power withdrew their proposal, citing “environmental concerns” – a victory for STEMM. So, six years later, RWE elected to call their project “Gaerwen” after a lesser know mountain above the proposed site. Gaerwen is an ancient hill fort, at its base, an area of wetland has “candidate Special Site Of Scientific Interest” status, right in the centre of the proposed turbine locations.
In 2021, we locals became aware of plans for a wind farm and the Facebook group Gaerwen Wind Farm Information was formed, (close to 700 members) with a view to publicising the project. We were able to persuade the village community councils to engage with residents and meetings were held with the developers. In 2022, A pre consultation event was held by RWE, the results of RWE’s feedback questionnaire were published: 77% of respondents were against the project.
September 2024, RWE’s “pre planning consultation” concluded. A recurring complaint from residents was that the consultation website and the public exhibitions “glossed over” the impacts of construction and visual amenity. For example, the exhibitions showed no computer generated photographs of the wind farm on the walls – attendees were required to queue up at a computer screen to view grainy 3d modelling instead. Environmental destruction was very much downplayed in favour of pretty photographs of fauna and flora currently found on the site. For those interested in seeing the gory details, planning documents had to be downloaded at home, a difficult undertaking for many with rural internet due to the size of the files.
A decision was made by the Save Gaerwen group to hold a public presentation prior to the end of the consultation which forensically analysed the contents of the planning documents, clarified difficult to understand planning jargon and contradicted many of the facts stated in the planning documents and generally informed the audience to a higher level than RWE could have done at the exhibitions, despite their massive budgets in place for this task. Following our presentation, the Llandrillo village council received letters from the community with 98% of those residents objecting to the wind farm. The response to RWE’s feedback questionnaire has yet to be published. (The public presentation can be viewed on YouTube, search “Save Gaerwen”).
Last Autumn, Natural Resources Wales invited public feedback for the north East Wales National Park proposal. A draft Area of Search map was published. It was noticed that the AoS did not include Mynydd Mynyllod and half of the Dee Valley below the mountain, despite the marvellous attributes of the area, some of which are mentioned above. Residents and of course, CPRW, contacted NRW and made the case in support of the beautiful and significant areas omitted to have them included. The mountain and valley were given due consideration for inclusion and I am happy to say the Area of Search was redrawn, there is now the potential for Mynydd Mynyllod and the entire Dee Valley to be in the New National Park. The new consultation for the National Park Proposal ended on 16th December 2024:
What does that mean for RWE’s planning application for Gaerwen Wind Farm?
RWE has stated that they will aim to submit the planning application to PEDW late 2024.
“Watch this space” as they say….or better still, “save this place!”
Links: https://www.youtube.com/@Savegaerwen
Facebook: Gaerwen Windfarm
Information by Martin Glyn Murray
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