This book is the result of a collaborative effort between active members of the Cefn Croes Campaign, which at the time of our legal challenge became the Cefn Croes Action Group.
It is not a book that we wanted to write, but when we were denied the public scrutiny afforded by a public inquiry or a full judicial review, we nursed a deep sense of injustice. We felt that this could only be assuaged by documenting the facts and placing them in the public domain.
In years to come, when people see the hundreds, if not thousands, of massive wind turbines despoiling the magnificent Welsh hillscapes, and ask, 'How was this allowed to happen?' our book, and the files, which are being submitted to Ceredigion County Archives, will give the answers and show how it was done.
During the three years of the campaign, 2000-2003, we wrote hundreds of letters to the press (local and national), the local council, the National Assembly for Wales, politicians, the Department of Trade and Industry and other government funded bodies such as the Forestry Commission, Ministry of Defence, Royal Air Force, Countryside Council for Wales and the Wales Tourist Board. We also corresponded with other groups - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Friends of the Earth - hoping that they might change their policies and object to the Cefn Croes development.
Those letters and the replies form the basis of our files, and gave us a broad overview into what was happening at every level of government and the so-called 'democratic process'. We gained a unique insight into the way the application was being dealt with at local council level, by the newly devolved Welsh Assembly, and finally the DTI at Westminster on behalf of the Labour Government. We believed, and continue to believe that the democratic process was subverted as the application was pushed through and consent given.
The report that we initially intended to write has become a book - more ambitious in its scope and far more time consuming than originally proposed, as we have sifted through the letters, reports, newspaper cuttings, radio and TV interviews and policy documents. The situation regarding wind energy in the UK continues to evolve, so chapters already written needed changes and additions.
We have no experience of investigative journalism, political analysis or planning matters. Apart from Dr John Etherington who contributed the scientific chapter, and David Morgan Jones who wrote about the legal challenge, we have no special technical or academic knowledge. We are ordinary local people, trying to earn a living in mid Wales, and look after our families. Some repetition is inevitable, as each chapter needs to be independent, but read as a whole, and with cross referencing, the full story should emerge. Inevitably, the minutiae of local council proceedings, minutes, reports, 'civil service' speak, and policy documents may seem dry and boring - but as ever, 'the devil is in the detail'. We felt it essential to record these devilish details for posterity.
It is hoped that future campaigners will find our story of interest, and useful as they fight their own battles with developers, politicians and officialdom. The Energy Policy that New Labour is currently pushing through is far reaching and will have a huge impact not just on Wales, but all upland areas of the UK that are not protected by National Park or AONB status.
Scotland, Northern Ireland and England - BE AWARE!
Kaye Little
Editor
July 2003.