Turbine would be 'three times larger than Orwell Bridge'

A150m-high wind turbine on the outskirts of Ipswich would be twice the height of Suffolk's tallest building if constructed, a council report found.

Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns and operates the Port of Ipswich, is preparing plans for the structure at Cliff Quay, near Orwell Bridge.

The company has requested a screening opinion from Babergh District Council before a full planning application is submitted.

Councillor Martin Cook, who represents the Gainsborough ward at Ipswich Borough Council, said the structure would be "three and a half times the Orwell Bridge, more than twice The Mill on the Waterfront and equal to the tallest onshore wind turbine in England."

A council officer's report said the proposal would be "extremely prominent and incongruous", towering above existing buildings, and the development risked significant ecological impacts due to its location in sensitive and protected areas.

However, an ABP spokesperson said the turbine would help control energy costs and create jobs.

"This is an early step in the planning process and seeks the local authority's view on the level of environmental assessment required before any planning application is submitted," they said.

"The proposal forms part of our ongoing work to help control the cost of electricity and, through this, support and grow jobs associated with the port."

Cook said that although the site was in Babergh due to "an accident of history", which left it just inside the Babergh boundary, the impacts would be felt by his residents in Gainsborough.

"I will be pressing Babergh to allow a longer consultation window than the legal minimum, so that nobody misses their chance to comment," he said.

"I am watching this closely and with concern that the scale proposed raises serious questions that ABP must answer."

Cook said the full plans were expected by the end of December or early in January.

The ABP spokesperson said if a planning application was submitted, it would be accompanied by and subject to the appropriate planning and consultation processes.

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