PLANS for a massive £175 million wind farm in Poole Bay with turbines hundreds of feet high are being drawn up.

The proposal by the Crown Estate has angered council bosses across the county, because they haven’t been consulted.

The 100 turbines, around 10 miles out, would be visible from the coastline and the plans are said to be “well advanced”.

Four local councils – Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Purbeck – have issued a joint statement expressing their “collective disappointment” at the way they have been kept in the dark.

Council chiefs may unite in opposition to the scheme because of potential damage to the tourism industry along the Jurassic Coast, a UN-designated World Heritage Site.

Bournemouth Council Conservative cabinet member Cllr Nick King told the Daily Echo: “It’s really bad that we are only learning about this now. That’s extremely disappointing.

“We understand that there is some kind of public consultation going on by the Crown Estate, but we have no idea who they have been talking to. It’s not us.”

The councils are calling for the plan to be halted until more information is made available and proper consultation carried out.

The plan has been put forward by the Crown Estate, the government agency which owns and manages state-owned land.

As part of round three of its renewable energy programme, it has identified a site west of the Isle of Wight – effectively meaning Poole Bay – for a wind farm.

It’s understood that when proposals were first published in June last year, the designated area was west of Portland, in Lyme Bay.

Now, in a Strategic Environmental Assessment released last month, the location seems to have shifted into Poole Bay. The proposal has already reached the stage of discussions with potential bidders interested in building the project.

Cllr Brian Leverett, leader of Borough of Poole, said the news had come as a shock.

“This is very poor consultation indeed,” he said. “This is not a minor development – it’s a major proposal and a very controversial one. I think the government has fallen far short of the standards of consultation we have a right to expect from them.”

He added: “We are elected to represent the people of Poole – how can we do that if we don’t even know what is possibly being proposed right on our doorstep.”

Dorset County Council leader Angus Campbell was also surprised and said the council needed to work quickly to find out more before rushing to judgement.

Richard Lacey, chairman of Poole Harbour Commissioners board, said they had not been notified.

He said: “We would expect to be a consultee on proposals that major. While we don’t have jurisdiction as such, plans that have any effect on lanes coming in and out of the port is something we would make comment on.”

He added: “I would imagine 100 turbines would cover quite a big area. Ultimately it would need to be marked on charts with an exclusion zone around it to warn ships.”

A Crown Estate spokeswoman said no decisions had been made and no announcements were due until the summer.

She added: “There’s nothing really to say at this stage. Everything is subject to the developers’ research. We cannot say where the site will be and how big. The zones we have identified are quite large and we think that within the zones, there’s potential to build at least one wind farm in each.”

Applications from developers are due by March 3.

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