A senior councillor has vowed that Powys will be "more robust" in dealing with breaches of planning applications after a claim that a county windfarm has been "sitting idle" with no way of exporting electricity.

A question was raised about Hendy windfarm near Llandegley at a meeting of the full council on Thursday, July 11.

Questioner Jenny Chryss asked the question about whether the council could guarantee it would enforce planning conditions on so-called "developments of national significance" (DNS).

These are major developments – such as windfarms – which are decided by Welsh Government planning inspectors, for which councils are asked to produce impact reports for a fee of £7,500.

Ms Chryss said one of the conditions for Hendy windfarm is that it should have produced a “secure electricity export plan”.

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She said that as this had not been done the windfarm has been “sitting idle” for several years, the condition had been breached and “no enforcement action taken”.

Ms Chryss said: “I’m pleased to hear of the appointment of enforcement officers. Does this mean we can have faith that Powys LPA (local planning authority) will robustly enforce conditions associated with future DNS applications?”

Cllr Jake Berriman, the cabinet member for planning, said: “There were 51 planning conditions attached to the application,

“The Hendy case is right and appropriate for us to consider.

“It is a stark reminder of where what might be in the future with DNS applications.”

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Hendy was rejected by the council but approved by the Welsh Government rural affairs minister in 2018 on appeal.

When an application is approved responsibility falls back on the council to ensure that any planning conditions placed on the development are complied with.

Cllr Berriman said that now the council had dedicated planning enforcement officers action would be “more robust than we’ve been in the past”, and that the council would investigate any breach of planning control.

But he called for more money to be given to councils to deal with such issues.

“What is quite frustrating to us as a planning authority is that the planning fee goes elsewhere, but we have the legal obligation to pursue at our cost proper planning enforcement," he said.

“We won’t shy away from that, but we are certainly encouraging the Welsh Government that we are properly recompensed financially for the additional resource that goes with monitoring applications that have been dealt with through PEDW.”

The written question that had been originally submitted by Ms Chryss was: “Can the council guarantee that in its role as the local planning authority it will rigorously enforce all conditions attached to DNS applications for wind turbines in Powys, as is a legal requirement?"