Pressing on with bid for water power

A stand-alone hydro-electricity scheme is being proposed as a forerunner to a five-storey apartment complex on Parnham’s Island, off Millgate, Newark.

The developers, Parnham’s Island Ltd of Coddington, have put on hold plans to convert the site, which once housed an 18th Century mill, into 63 apartments with parking beneath.

But it is pressing ahead with a hydro-electricity project, which would produce nearly 100kw of electricity.

The developers want to install fish-friendly turbines in the two old waterwheels of the former mill.

The turbines would harness the flow from Mill Race, an area of fast-flowing water over which is a bridge that consists of the surviving foundations of the mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1965.

Mr James Rigby, a senior consultant at Globe Consultants, the agents for the developers, said the stand-alone scheme would be financially viable.

He said it would be pursued regardless of whether the apartments went ahead.

A study commissioned by Parnham’s Island Ltd estimates the hydro-electricity scheme could generate about £140,000 a year.

Mr Rigby said there was a delay in determining the planning application for the apartments while they dealt with concerns raised by the Environment Agency. The agency is concerned that, in the event of a one-in-100-year flood, emergency vehicles would not be able to access the apartments.

A scoping report has been submitted to Newark and Sherwood District Council to request the authority’s opinion on whether an environmental impact assessment is needed for the hydro-electricity scheme.

The report is a precursor to a full planning application. In response, the council’s planning services manager, Mr Peter Wilkinson, has deemed that an environmental assessment is not required.

In a letter to Globe Consultants, Mr Wilkinson said: “The scale of the project suggests that significant impacts may not be anticipated.

“The impacts are unlikely to have wide-ranging impacts of more than local importance and make use of natural water resources.

“This is unlikely to have unusually complex or hazardous effects in terms of the production of waste, noise, pollution or other nuisances or be at risk of accidents.”