Resource Library Category: England (26 items)
Documents presented here are not the product of nor are they necessarily endorsed by National Wind Watch. This resource library is provided to assist anyone wishing to research the issue of industrial wind power and the impacts of its development. The information should be evaluated by each reader to come to their own conclusions about the many areas of debate.
Windfarm Wars – episode 4
Source: BBC2
Transcript of Windfarm Wars, episode 4 (of 4), BBC2:
This is a stress-free place. It’s something to sit and worship at because it is so beautiful.
4.5 miles from the northern edge of Dartmoor lies the Den Brook Valley. But for seven years a battle has been fought over plans to build a windfarm here.
Morning, Mr Tucker.
Farmer Martin Tucker will have five turbines on his land and it will make him serious money.
If we get it, it’s a result.
The windfarm is being planned by Renewable Energy Systems or RES. They were set up as the renewables arm of the huge Sir Robert McAlpine Group, which built shopping centres to a nuclear power station.
We’ve had a lot of different designs.
The Den Brook windfarm is the dream of project manager Rachel Ruffle.
I want everyone to love windfarms.
If it’s built, Rachel’s windfarm will be just over 1km from the home of Mike and Bash Hulme.
The climate’s changing. It’s April, but this could be midsummer.
They moved here 35 years ago to live a green, low-impact lifestyle, but they’re worried about turbine noise.
Anyone who says they can’t hear that is hard of hearing.
They started out in 2005 with a good relationship with Rachel and let RES take background noise recordings on their land.
It was agreed I’d get the data. I feel they’ve fobbed me off.
When the local council turned the windfarm down, it went to a public inquiry.
But Mike still didn’t have access to the noise data.
There’s no persuasive evidence before this inquiry to say it wasn’t professionally made…
When RES got planning permission, he took his battle to the High Court. He lost, but RES was criticised.
The judge couldn’t believe we hadn’t given him the data.
Mike is not about to give up now.
So will you let me have the data?
The story of Den Brook and the nation’s dilemma of how best to react to climate change still has some way to go.
It’s six weeks after Mike’s failed challenge in the High Court.
Can you back it into there?
There’s still time for him to launch an appeal against the result, but Rachel and a colleague have said they’re coming down to hand over the missing data.
It’s like waiting for the bloody Queen!
Nearby neighbour Claire joins him to give moral support.
She’s a fellow campaigner and a member of his Den Brook Judicial Review Group.
We’re stood out here like dumpties!
All smiles.
Where shall I park, Mike?
In there. So you found us all right?
Rachel hasn’t been to Mike and Bash’s for three years, but now she’s come to deliver what he wants.
Where is it, then?
The data! That’s each item that I asked for?
It should be all that’s required.
Mike Stigwood will look at it. He’s an acoustician and planning specialist who, like those of us down here, feels there’s an injustice going on about the noise.
I think it’s the opposite. We want to make sure we don’t create a noise problem. It’s not in our interests to create noise problems, clearly.
Of course it’s not. Are you familiar with noise graphs? Take a look at that. That’s amplitude modulation in Jane Davis’s bedroom.
10 months earlier, Mike and Bash made a journey to Lincolnshire to Jane and Julian Davis’s property.
Get the tears over and done with then I won’t cry again.
Their story made the national press. I just warn you I get upset.
They claim that in certain weather conditions, turbines near their home make a disruptive noise called amplitude modulation. They abandoned their house to sleep elsewhere.
Noise expert Mike Stigwood recorded the actual sound in their daughter’s bedroom. On this graph, the amplitude modulation or AM, the noise Mike is very concerned about, can be seen and heard. When it’s loudest, the Davises say they can be woken up by the sound, but the industry noise guidelines average out the peaks, so the windfarm may not be in violation.
This is a recording of amplitude modulation at an actual home next to a windfarm. It’s not something I’ve drawn or made up. It was recorded…
Did your noise expert record it?
Absolutely, yes. There has been a lot of discussion at recent inquiries about this.
There is an element in the country that just use it to stop windfarms.
I don’t care about that! That’s not what I’m worried about.
I’m worried about our situation here. I’m concerned about the situation for myself and all my neighbours. Now I want to know if there is a risk of that kind of noise problem occurring at my house.
In the really unlikely event of a problem, we will sort it out. Mike, you used to say to me “You’re just a little nothing. Your directors are just using you.” But…
I never said that.
You did. You said that quite a lot to me.
I did not.
I’d say, “They’re OK.” Now I AM a director and I do have control over what happens and that’s not what is going to happen.
To protect him and his neighbours, Mike suggests a special planning condition.
If we could show that amplitude modulation is a peak to trough of, say six decibels, there should be a four-decibel penalty put on the noise limits?
Absolutely not, no way. You’ll have to see that we are not going to… threaten our planning permission by attempting to change the noise condition.
I don’t see anything inadequate about the noise condition.
I truly believe it will offer you the appropriate protection. So…
That’s neither here nor there. Your assurances simply are not enough, Rachel. Not enough. They haven’t been enough for three years. But you… Just carrying on with that line is not going to resolve the situation. OK?
After she’d gone, I loaded it up onto the computer and emailed the files to Dr Moroney, who’s an experienced, very competent data analyst.
Mike has only 10 days left within which he can seek permission to appeal the High Court decision.
And I emailed it to the noise expert that we had been using for the whole of the court case. And they started to find all sorts of anomalies in the data. And as we went on, we became more and more astonished at what we were finding.
50, 39.8…
90, 32.2…
On the whole, it’s made the background noise measurements actually appear greater, relative to the wind speed, than they really are. So that means the noise limits are high. And that is material prejudice against me.
We should have been challenging this. If RES had given me this, it could’ve been dealt with and there wouldn’t have been all this hassle. Maybe it IS a mistake. I’m still in shock, I suppose!
Within just a few days, Mike submits a witness statement outlining what the data revealed and giving an assessment by his noise expert.
My purpose in being here is to apply government policy to this case.
He also submits a skeleton argument that the way the inquiry inspector balanced the windfarm’s benefit against its harm and the way he handled the noise data were wrong.
If you, sir, are to rely on data only available to the appellant…
Three weeks later, the application is allowed by Lord Justice Laws, who is critical that the data has been withheld for so long, and allows that there is a case for both points, balance and noise issues, to be reheard.
Mike calls a meeting of his campaign group.
A couple of things came through from the court. The appeal is listed for some time between… the 10th September and 10th December.
And it’s going to be before three Lord Justices.
So it’s the big time.
LAUGHTER
It would appear!
They plan how to raise yet more money to fight the next round.
It could be anything from 20 to 35.
But instead of having several weeks to plan and raise funds, they learn the appeal is going to be heard in just one month’s time.
RES do admit the data error.
They argue, however, that the effect on its noise assessment is insignificant.
Basically, what they did is they had all this data and they used the wrong bloomin’ data!
The argument is beginning to surface in the press.
“The error is minuscule in noise terms, but we will correct it.” You know, how competent are they if they can make such an elementary error?
Planning inspectors are appointed by the Secretary of State, who is therefore the main defendant. But with just a week to go before the High Court appeal, Mike’s had no response from them. And as the High Court judge concluded, both points Mike’s appealed on are arguable. It’s not just the noise issue at stake. It’s also whether the inspector misdirected in balancing the benefit of the windfarm against harm it could cause to the environment of Den Brook.
There are only five working days before the court’s due to sit. Mike’s lawyers have just heard from the barrister representing the Secretary of State. Mikes passes the word around the team.
Hi, Mike.
How are you doing?
I’m all right. I’m at work.
Have you got a minute?
Yes.
They’ve conceded. The Secretary of State has withdrawn.
No! We need the champagne!
Don’t get too excited.
In fact, when Mike learns the full details, it becomes clear the offer to settle is on noise issues alone, not the balance argument. If Mike consents, his costs will be paid by the Secretary of State and RES. If he refuses, he’ll have to take his chances in court. In the end, the majority of Mike’s group are in agreement.
It’s a nightmare situation. Some people were saying, “We’ve come this far, we ought to take this through to a conclusion in the courts. And run the balance argument in court.” So we then tried to negotiate some movement on the terms, but RES wouldn’t agree to that. If we’d taken it forward and lost the case, we would have lost everything and ended up in debt.
Lastly, we come to the subject of noise conditions. The order states that the inspector had erred in law. In his decision to grant planning permission, he’d passed the noise conditions without access to the noise data and failed to give the reasons why.
On July 23rd, the agreement is finally signed. The planning permission is now quashed. The matter is sent back to the Planning Inspectorate for a new public inquiry. The story of Den Brook is not over yet.
Ladies and gentlemen, today we are celebrating 30 years of green energy…
At London’s ExCel Centre, RES are joint sponsors of the wind industry’s major conference. Despite their global success, RES haven’t constructed a single windfarm in England for 15 years. Dr Ian Mays is their CEO. In effect, the minority are using our democratic and legal system to prevent the majority of society from avoiding the worst impacts of the challenges we face. Is this fair? Is this really what we want? I’m not suggesting that we remove these rights, just redress the balance.
The Planning Inspectorate or PINS as it’s called has now got to decide how to proceed. We’re waiting to hear from PINS how they will redetermine the application. They’ve consulted and sent out a letter to all interested parties saying, “We propose a new inquiry. It’s the same inspector, but it focuses on the noise issue and anything else that has changed. What do you think?” We’ve said we think that’s good.
I guess that Mike Hulme and other people would probably be saying, “We don’t want the same inspector.” I don’t see why we should have to go through the same arguments again. It’s costly and time-wasting. We’ve already had the arguments. The windfarm isn’t built or producing any green energy. It could be built by now.
The first item is progress since the last meeting.
We’ve news from PINS…
Despite consistent written protests from Mike’s group, PINS goes ahead with its plan and suggests the next public inquiry will be in March, 2009.
We’re now at the point of considering some sort of protocol letter.
Mike’s solicitor is instructed to issue a protocol letter which threatens legal action against PINS if it fails to change its decision on how to run the inquiry.
It’s nearly five years since plans for the windfarm became public.
I don’t want covered with sawdust.
Mike’s now got his own wind and weather data recording system set up.
Put your back into it.
Following the protocol letter, PINS is reviewing its decision and the March date for the inquiry has been postponed.
I’m struggling with it.
It’s all right. I’ll get it. I resent that it’s interrupted my life for… the best part of four years now.
We used to be fairly on top of things, most of the time.
These days it’s… You know.
Nature doesn’t back off. It just keeps going.
They brought it home to us very much this week. When we first came here, we were part of a group of people.
One of the people died last week.
So, you know, it does bring it home to you that… it’s not a rehearsal, basically.
Mike’s been waiting since November for some new wind speed data from RES to go with his own measurements.
We’ve asked for some more information from them which is absolutely crucial to our case. In fact, RES have implied they will provide the data, but at the start of the consultation period. That’s when the date for a new inquiry is set.
Everything’s going to pot, isn’t it? My chair snapped the other day. I could have broken my neck.
In his field, Mike’s even erected his own 10-metre anemometer mast. The wind speed readings are already being logged alongside background noise recordings.
This monitor is showing us what’s going on out in the field.
The government brought in guidelines 14 years ago to control windfarm noise, known as ETSU R97. But new turbines can now be three times the height of older ones. As wind speed increases with height and can change very rapidly across the arc of the blades, an effect known as wind shear, some experts say more blade noise can be created. Mike’s worry is that the air at ground level may have less movement, making less background noise, so noise from the turbines may impact more on his property. Stable atmospheric conditions exist here that show high wind shears, exceptionally high probably, and that has a significant bearing on the noise situation.
Today Mike’s expecting to get the result of another windfarm inquiry. It’s been fought by someone who will be one of his key expert witnesses.
Hello!
Are you Mike?
Mike first met Lee Moroney as he prepared for his own High Court challenge. She helped him discover the flaws in RES’s data.
It was contaminated.
Ecotricity want to site two turbines, the nearest just 450 metres from her boundary.
About that distance from us and a little bit to the left.
To fight her inquiry, she’s done her own background noise readings and, like Mike, she’s worried about AM coming from the turbines.
Wind at the top is different…
Just a few months ago, Mike actually attended the inquiry. Many of the participants he’ll be coming face-to-face with in his own forthcoming one.
We have something. Wow. That is a bit of a surprise. “I dismiss the appeal.” Lee is going to be over the moon.
The inspector found that the residents’ own background noise recordings were the most representative. She accepted their arguments that high wind shear meant turbine noise would be unpredictable. She also found that conditions to control it were unworkable.
I hoped for that, but it’s still a bit of a shock.
This is now putting it into a sort of concrete format, what I’d intuitively thought for years, ever since I started really thinking about this. I think Rachel needs to be a bit more realistic about the possibilities. When we get the data, IF we get the data that we’ve asked for, we’ll be able to then show the massive difference between the wind speeds on-site at height and the wind speeds here.
Does Rachel know you’re doing all this?
When she came down to give me the data that we found was flawed, she suggested, if I remember correctly, that I could well have done my own monitoring. We are! Look out!
And the next day Mike’s group get the other piece of news they’ve been waiting for.
PINS writes, “We now accept it would be beneficial to appoint a new Inspector and allow evidence to be brought on all the issues.”
There’s a sub-station shown as cross-hatching. It’s that one.
It’s such a fine cross-hatch. It’s exactly the same as that.
In Lincolnshire, Rachel is introducing a new community to her company’s plans for a windfarm that RES hope to build.
Do you feel apprehensive?
No, I enjoy it. I quite like to speak to people and find out what they’re really worrying about. Also, it’s really quite motivating to meet people who are supportive.
Where’s it going to connect up to the mains? Alongside the sub-station. Very good.
Do you think now there’s an increased amount of anxiety about noise?
Yeah. I think there is increased anxiety. There are some cases where people have got noise problems, but they’re few and far between.
Have you been to have a listen?
I have and I could hear it.
Watching you today, I presume such events attract people with concerns?
I don’t know. I don’t think so. We’ll see. At the end of the day, we’ll look at the chart and see the blue dots either side. The last time I glanced, it looked pretty even. Some people want to find out what the scheme’s about and maybe they’re undecided at this stage.
Now the Planning Inspectorate has appointed a new inspector, RES have published their updated Den Brook information and released much of the data Mike’s been waiting for.
The new assessment confirms the old assessment.
It shows that the windfarm is within planning guidelines for noise and won’t cause an unacceptable noise impact.
Hello. Did you hear Ed Miliband today?
We only got the information yesterday.
At Mike’s, there’s a meeting.
It takes five minutes to download it on broadband!
Has anyone approached Lee Moroney?
She’s got the data already.
So… so I’m putting it on the table in front of her and hoping it will encourage her. If we go on to the funding position first….
You’ve got experts required. I want to put a bid in for landscaping.
Susan said we’d be absolutely mad not to look at that.
She said, “I cannot believe you are not going to look at landscape again. You’ve gone this far. You’d be completely mad not to.”
I have a bit of a worry about ETSU. I think the only way to challenge ETSU is through the courts.
I don’t think you will get ETSU challenged in a public inquiry.
That’s never been in my mind. There’s no way we’ll overturn ETSU and we’re not going to get rid of it.
What we’re going to… What we are achieving already is going beyond ETSU.
The conference is at one o’clock. It would be a good idea to get there early and have a chat in the lobby.
Mike’s on his way to London for a case conference with his new lawyer.
Mounting a full landscape case will be expensive and all his group’s funds will now be committed, but Mike’s spent so much time preparing the noise case, he’s had to borrow against the house.
At the end of this, I’m going to be so broke I’ll have to sell the house. And then what?
The reality dawns.
There are three days to go before the inquiry starts.
Farmer Martin Tucker has a vested interest. If they’re built, five turbines will be on his farm, giving him a substantial income.
Just waiting for the inquiry now next week. Hopefully, the inspector will make his decision soon enough. And we’ll get the right decision and can kick on.
RES’s options on Martin’s land run out in November, but he says he’s renegotiated a new, even more lucrative deal IF the inquiry goes RES’s way.
Yeah… I’m very frustrated, really. We thought we’d got it. One silly mistake and they dragged it up again. If we don’t get a move on and get these things up and working, it isn’t going to be there. But there seems to be a few minority that want to hold it up.
The second Den Brook Inquiry starts in a nearby sports hall, two years and eight months after the first. The inspector who will make the final decision, Andrew Pykett, has eight days scheduled.
The renewable energy strategy before this inquiry has now been issued.
RES emphasise that since the first inquiry, there’s now a legally-binding 2020 target of 15% of energy coming from renewable sources, but the inquiry will hear claims that CO2 savings from the windfarm will be just half RES’s original estimate. The council’s position is that the benefits of the scheme are not sufficiently quantified by the appellant.
AM will arise from the proposals…
The appellant uses an unrealistically high capacity factor to calculate what each turbine…
But the first day is hardly through when Mike hears a rumour that the inquiry is likely to run out of its allocated time and the noise section may have to be delayed for several weeks.
I’m almost thinking I’m packed up now. Who knows where it’ll go?
Right. Good morning. The four principal parties have agreed not to try to fit the noise evidence into the time which we’ve been allocated, but to delay or rather to postpone the consideration of that evidence until the latter part of September. The agreement to this is with extreme reluctance.
I’m incredibly frustrated about it because it was last August that we were happy to concede in the Court of Appeal on this technicality of a noise issue. Here we are, a year later, eight days of a new inquiry, and we’re not discussing noise at all.
One of the distinctive qualities of Dartmoor…
The delay there has been in getting this scheme consented is incredible. What kind of response is that as a country that we’re having to climate change? Procrastination.
One appreciates the landscape is a wide-open panorama…
Dartmoor hasn’t moved. It’s incredibly frustrating.
But RES could still have a problem with landscape. Sarah Reynolds is the new expert hired by Mike Hulme’s group and she’s examined the area from new viewpoints.
The proposals would result in the loss of natural beauty and integrity and be entirely unacceptable.
RES’s new landscape expert is Colin Goodrum. Sarah Reynolds disagrees with his assessment of the turbines’ impact.
The turbines here are significant in scale. I believe the magnitude is understated by Mr Goodrum.
So a wind turbine that is twice the height of the relevant valley, that is not out of scale with it. Is that your answer?
In terms of the scale of the valley, the valley will still read very much as a valley. The turbines will be perceived as large objects in the valley. I don’t believe they compete in the sense of suddenly the valley looks tiny, for instance.
Are they out of scale?
I don’t believe in those terms they are, no.
I see. Do they not appear in various views over the ridges?
Yes.
And they’re still not out of scale?
No. A tree appears above a ridge. Is that out of scale?
At the end of the cross-examination, members of the public opposed to the expert witness are allowed to put questions.
If we put several tall telegraph poles in front of Buckingham Palace, would we say it would have no impact?
Well, I think… Buckingham Palace would still be there.
Yes, indeed.
There are views in this landscape where telegraph poles are in the foreground. I mean, that’s the product of modern life, really.
Thanks very much, Mr Goodrum. Thank you.
As the inquiry hears the remaining expert witnesses, the inspector’s final examinations of cultural heritage issues, planning policies and targets and ecological safeguards are debated in exhaustive detail.
In this context, absolutely, yes…
What we’ve decided to do is to set aside this evening…
Towards the end of the inquiry, members of the public can make their own statements.
In my view, these nine turbines would substantially change the character of the area. I live less than one mile from the boundary of the proposed windfarm. The Davises in Deeping St Nicholas were driven from their house by noise from a windfarm 930 metres away.
The sheer scale of the development and the lack of proper consultation…
If it goes ahead, our company will not bring tourists to stay in the areas around the site.
As at the first inquiry, it appears the majority of speakers are opposing the windfarm.
And, um, John Vincent?
Mr Vincent, are you a supporter or an objector?
I’m a supporter.
Right.
Perhaps it’s the word “developer” which creates the sort of animosity which will lead to the level of aggressive protest, to bring us to new debate, and these developers are actually caring scientists and engineers, wanting to help us and our world with clean energy.
To the point – now, this debate is supposedly based on what? Important new evidence? Do you know what the important new evidence was? It was an error. I asked a scientist, “How will this error in the sound figures affect the local populace?” “It is unmeasurable scientifically. It’s inaudible to any creature.” Yet to many people here today, it’s an excuse to abuse our taxpayer in order to thrust forward a small group’s own protests. It in no way reflects the will of the majority of people who would never believe that they would have to protest FOR wind. “Who would protest against it?” they might well ask.
Rather than try and persuade people who were already persuaded, the best thing is to talk to the people who I think don’t understand the situation, so I made my mind up that I would have a quiet word with them, so I turned round and introduced myself to them and told them what I’d done and it just developed into something really quite bizarre.
And he knows Rachel.
As soon as we got talking about it, he said, “Do you mind if I go over and bring the acousticians over from the developers?” I said, “No, great.”
I’m stunned to see people objecting.
I generally agree with you, but there are specific times when these problems can arise, under certain conditions. So normally if you’re standing a kilometre away, 800 metres or any distance, you can’t hear them?
Absolutely. More than likely the case.
We have identified from the data that Rachel has provided us that there are specific conditions, atmospheric conditions that apply to the Den Brook area…
We would disagree with that identification. We’ve analysed our data as well.
If you can prove us wrong, that’s fine, but you’re refusing to respond to us.
We have responded in evidence.
You won’t address amplitude modulation.
We have our meteorological witness…
Rachel, I got a letter from your solicitor, saying you will not be addressing amplitude modulation and you won’t be addressing that in the noise conditions. It’s like a denial that this stuff happens.
So the High Court case costs how much? How much has it cost you?
It’s cost me a fortune. It’s cost me £70,000 personally.
Couldn’t you have spent that money on double glazing?
If double glazing sorted the issue…
When I stand by one of these turbines, I can’t hear anything. Can I just finish?
There is a problem out there. I’ve been there. I’ve experienced it.
It can be irritating and noisy, so a great solution would be to put it somewhere quiet where it won’t upset too many people. They’ve found that place, haven’t they?
Just a minute. What are you saying?
I’ve just said, “Sod you, there aren’t many people around it. Go ahead.”
If it was going to affect thousands of people…
You are joking!
What makes you think you’re so important? You’ve got to be joking. I don’t believe you’re so important.
You believe that all the people who live near windfarms aren’t important, they’re sacrificial?
I believe some things are good on this planet and some things are bad. A bit of noise pollution from a wind turbine… People live near motorways, they live in cities. They live in blocks of flats. You’ve got a lovely, ideal life set in the heart of Devon in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Enjoy it and stop whinging. The only people here today were from near Little Whinging or whatever it’s called. Not all the people in the rest of the planet saying, “Build us some renewable energy.”
Sticks and stones will not get us anywhere forward on this.
I think that Sizewell power station…
It’s no good calling people names.
Throwing names at people…
Good morning.
Good morning.
My name is Eva Ritchie. I’m 13 years old.
My mother is Rachel Ruffle, but this is my opinion.
I am here today to speak in favour of the Den Brook Windfarm. Looking at the bigger picture…
The next day, more supporters of the windfarm are making statements.
My name is Dr Steve Ritchie and I’m the life partner of Rachel Ruffle. I met with the main complainant, Mike Hulme, early in RES’s development process of Den Brook. At that stage, he showed some concern over noise. I had no idea what he was going to say. I just said, “Don’t make it personal. Just be objective.” Since then, I observed this level of concern to increase out of all proportion. I presume this is due to it becoming an obsession, not helped by the media attention, encouragement from the Renewable Energy Foundation and a highly networked group of anti-wind activists across the UK…
I had no idea what he was going to say, but he probably resents the amount of time it’s taken to get this scheme through.
I do have sympathy for the state of mind Mike Hulme is now in, but I believe that Den Brook needs to be built and should not be delayed any further by the unfounded worries of a tiny minority.
Please consent this application.
My name is Anne Ramsey and I have lived at Eastbrook in the parish of Bow for 26 years. I have been in contact with several householders suffering from increased noise levels at their homes, following the construction and operation of wind turbines close by. At Askam Windfarm in Cumbria, the developer was Wind Prospect for E.ON. It came online in 1999. Seven best practices were promised by the developers to the judge at a court case brought by the residents in 2004. There have been a further 130 registered complaints up until May 2005 from people living up to two kilometres away…
As with the first inquiry, Inspector Pykett visits all the viewpoints raised by the parties.
I suggest we look at that at the viewpoint.
They’re due to visit Nichols Nymet House Hotel which overlooks the windfarm site.
What’s her name, Audrey?
Owner Muriel Goodman says she’ll probably sell it if the windfarm gets planning permission.
I think he was very nice. You feel that he’s actually listening, he’s actually taking notice of us.
Can you order what species and say, “Can we have Friesians this week?” Right. Thanks very much.
I think he’s open.
You probably won’t hear now until the new year.
It’ll either be a really awful Christmas present or a really good one, if it’s beforehand. Otherwise, it’ll be a bad new year or a good new year, won’t it?
But first, in two months’ time, there is still the delayed noise inquiry to go through.
There’s only five days to go.
Despite the increase in cost that the delay has incurred, Mike still believes in the strength of his case.
The whole thing is very much in the balance. In most of the inquiries up until recently, noise has probably been dealt with in a couple of hours. We’ve now got four days allocated for noise evidence. That just shows the nature of the situation.
People might say it shows the nature of your obsession.
Yes! I have no doubt. I can certainly think of one or two people who would be quite happy to think that. Irrational obsession.
Irrational obsession. And you’ve been seduced by the media.
Yeah.
Surely, it’s only reasonable to be obsessed about something if you see something is seriously wrong.
What’s going to happen if, in eight weeks’, ten weeks’ time, you get the news you don’t want?
If the windfarm has permission and there is a planning condition applied to it which is protective of the neighbours … I won’t find it a major problem. But the reality of the situation is I don’t believe it’s possible to actually … construct a planning condition that is protective of the neighbours.
Good morning. In the next four days…
Mike’s group will need to convince the inspector that AM is likely to be experienced by windfarm neighbours at Den Brook if it gets the go-ahead.
Rachel Ruffle isn’t there, though, as she’s ill. Project manager Helen Hall is representing RES which means Rachel will miss all the evidence, including Jane Davis’s.
I’ll start by calling Mrs Jane Davis. Right, Mrs Davis?
Good morning to the inquiry. The windfarm became operational in June 2006 and within three days, we became aware of problems with noise and hum emanating from the windfarm.
HUMMING
These noise issues and the apparent failure of any organisation to be able to ameliorate the distress we’ve suffered as a result have devastated our lives. I am determined to ensure the failures of the planning system to protect me and my family are not repeated elsewhere. We know we suffer from something called aerodynamic modulation – AM, which is not fully understood.
In her proof of evidence, Jane Davis lists a number of illnesses she claims are now experienced by members of her family since the windfarm began operation.
You contend that all these illnesses are certainly because of the windfarm. Is that right?
I make no judgment. What I do is say we know that noise can create ill health. These are the ill health things that have happened. There may well be a relationship.
Going on to paragraph 27…
Marcus Trinick and Jane Davis have met at a number of windfarm inquiries. There is no specific AM noise condition for the tall turbines at Deeping St Nicholas, so he is keen to establish that despite her claims about AM, there is no evidence at the inquiry of any breaches of noise conditions.
We’re used to hearing conspiracy theories. I assume, this is a question, that is why the local authority haven’t said to the developer, “We’d like you to turn off the turbines to evaluate what is happening with background noise and the contribution it may make,” because they have not determined a breach which they wish to enforce against?
They have asked the developer to do that. The local government ombudsman made that a specific request.
Is that in writing?
It is.
Is that before this inquiry?
It is not… yet.
And nothing has happened to date. I see.
Finally, do you wish this inspector to visit your house to listen to the turbine noise?
Many other inspectors have found this quite a useful exercise.
Well, I would concur. I think it’s a very good idea.
So you should have from Dr Hoare her proof of evidence and a rebuttal.
Dr Lee Hoare, or Lee Moroney as Mike knows her, has also met Marcus Trinick before at inquiries, both as home owner and as a director of the Renewable Energy Foundation. They are an organisation critical of onshore windfarms. In her proof of evidence using RES’s own wind data that was eventually released to Mike’s group, Dr Lee Hoare addresses the likely incidence of AM at Den Brook.
She claims RES have refused to address the issue, relying instead on the government’s research commissioned from the University of Salford.
The brief of this research was not to take measurements in the field, but to ask local authorities how many complaints they had received sounded like AM concerns. They deduced that only four windfarms out of the 133 at the time were affected.
She feels Den Brook is a prime candidate for AM. She claims the worst affected property is likely to be Mike’s own house.
And instead of going and actually measuring the AM noise, they tried to figure out if the complaints were down to AM noise on the basis of the adjectives used by the complainant.
From material released under the Freedom of Information Act and her own further researches, Dr Hoare comes to a different conclusion to Salford.
On the data in front of me, I consider that 16% of existing windfarms have neighbours who complain of AM noise. A bit like Mrs Davis’s evidence, “I can tell you this, but I have no evidence of it.”
You’ve seen no measurements from these sites.
No. One of the criticisms of the Salford report was that they refused to do any measurements.
Let’s get away from the “sting in the tail” answer about Salford. I’m simply looking at the evidence you’ve produced today. Salford can stand by itself… or not.
You’ve simply read some of these reports and said, “Sounds like AM. We’ll call it AM.” That’s all you’ve done. You’ve got no evidence beyond that.
I have exactly the data before me that the Salford investigators had.
Could you answer my question, please?
I have no measurements for these windfarms, correct. No.
Sorry, 33, you say van den Berg show the authors of ETSU-R-97…
As the inquiry goes through four days of witness cross-examination, it becomes clear that much confusion is being caused by the limitations of the government’s ETSU guidelines.
To be fair to your point, ETSU didn’t discuss atmospheric considerations at all.
But as the inquiry began, Marcus Trinick introduced a letter, clarifying the government’s position on windfarm noise.
The minister says they have “no plans to revise the guidelines” and that there’s “no evidence to suggest the small incidence of AM is as a result of turbine size”.
The inquiry hears, though, that currently the guidelines struggle to cope with turbines that are now so much taller.
At the time of ETSU, the highest hub pipe was 32 metres, so the error factor was not great. And now when you get up to 70, 80 metres, you’re into a much larger error factor. ETSU isn’t flawed. What has happened could maybe have been anticipated by ETSU at the time, but it wasn’t. It was a creature of its time.
The inquiry examines every aspect – noise limits, background noise measurements, the locations, methods, equipment used.
You’re quite clearly wrong. No, ETSU deals with that. It talks about those situations… I drafted the thing, so there we are.
Unarranged and extraneous data, atmospheric conditions…
That’s the point. That IS the point. And of course, AM.
Last point, Dr McKenzie – AM.
Have you ever visited a windfarm and witnessed AM yourself?
I’ve heard variation in turbine noise, yes.
Would you characterise that as AM?
It is amplitude modulation. Variation in noise level is what it means.
Yeah, OK, so you’ve heard small variations in amplitude?
I’ve heard variation in turbine noise level.
Have you heard excessive?
I’m not sure what’s meant by excessive amplitude modulations.
I think it’s a term that’s been coined by others, not by ourselves.
If we could formulate a condition that might protect the residents of Den Brook from AM, if heaven forbid it should exist, in a way in which the conditions imposed on the planning permission that at Deeping St Nicholas did not protect Mrs Davis…
There’s been no evidence that the planning conditions are not being complied with at Deeping St Nicholas and of any statutory nuisance. We have Mrs Davis’s logs and word and evidence which show that she’s upset by her situation, but no material evidence to show whether… what… whether that’s related to planning conditions or statutory nuisance.
Right. Dr McKenzie, thank you very much indeed. Thank you.
And no wind turbine shall generate electricity to the grid until…
On the final day of evidence, the inquiry discusses planning conditions that could be imposed if the windfarm is given permission.
Final matter for today. Mr Taylor, your alternative noise conditions and your suggested amplitude modulation…
They’ve been under discussion for some time, but at the last minute, Mike’s team put forward a new noise condition.
We’re not able at such short notice to respond to this condition. That may not seem helpful to you, sir, but it’s quite wrong to ask us at zero notice, effectively, to comment on a brand-new noise condition delivered on the last evidential day of the inquiry. I’m not going to deal with it now.
Over the weekend, we can prepare something in writing for Monday and that’s as good as it gets.
As promised, the following Monday, RES put in their response to Mike’s team’s AM noise condition. They argue that a condition is unnecessary as excessive AM is rare and it’s not recommended in ETSU guidelines. They also say stable atmospheric conditions at the appeal site are rare too, and in their view, conditioning AM would cause profound damage to the UK wind industry.
It’s like waiting for the results from your exams.
It’s decision day once again for the nine Den Brook turbines.
At her home, Jenny Rosser is dreading the inspector’s verdict.
I’ll miss looking out on my beautiful views of Dartmoor.
We could sit up in bed and look across all the tors and… all the changing seasons. It’s just beautiful. We’re absolutely head-on to all nine of them. They’ll just open up in a vista in front of us. I’m feeling really anxious and really nervous. I haven’t thought about anything else all week. People say, “No point in worrying about it. There’s nothing you can do to change it now.”
How long to go? I don’t know. It must be half an hour, is it?
Oh, God!
OK, we’ll see you there then.
For Mike, the decision comes on a busy day. Apparently, they’ve got a full house tonight. There’s a carol service tonight at Muriel’s to raise funds to cover their outstanding bills.
Come on. Are you taking him upstairs?
Yeah, he can come up and see the decision.
But first, there’s the inspector’s decision to be dealt with.
SHE SIGHS
Anxious moments.
Where is Mike today?
He’s done a very good job getting us to where we are and I don’t think he’s finished yet.
No, no e-mail yet.
It’s almost unbearable. Yeah.
Bash?
Yeah?
Do you want to come up? It’s in.
PHONE RINGS
Hello…?
Do we? Oh, fantastic!
Oh, Marcus, thanks.
So democracy, people power doesn’t work.
It’s so disappointing. After all this time!
Oh, Marcus… Well done. Well done. Thank you for all your help.
“I allow the appeal.”
Rachel will be pleased.
Well done, Marcus.
Congratulations. Yeah, exactly. I didn’t expect it, to be honest. I didn’t expect the “yes”.
LAUGHTER
Claire has summed it up in one word – “Bugger!”
The delay that the Action Group has caused us has done us no harm financially. Let’s put it like that.
And the pounds coming into your pocket will have increased a bit?
They will have increased a bit.
In his 55-page decision letter, Inspector Pykett concludes the windfarm “would make a limited but valuable contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions.”
On landscape, while noting the impact on many locations, he adds that, “Ironically, the presence and scale of Dartmoor “would allow the comparatively smaller mass of the windfarm “to provide a landscape context for the development. The conflict with the landscape policies is sufficiently limited…”
One of the greatest national parks in the world! “..to be outweighed by Structure Plan Policy CO12…”
As for the noise guidelines, while accepting some of RES’s arguments that lay outside them, he includes his opinion that “a review of ETSU-R-97 is overdue”.
And on the question of further research beyond the Salford report, he says, “Such research would be prudent to improve understanding.”
On AM itself he says, “On the basis of the evidence I have received, “I conclude that a greater than expected impact from AM would be possible” and he doesn’t see its rarity as a valid reason for RES’s objection.
He imposes an AM condition.
It’s going to be a day or two before we’ve digested all this lot, but this is an initial reaction from somebody who is on the case and they’re saying they’ve never seen conditions this tight and they suspect the developer will maybe even appeal it.
I mean, that would be a first, wouldn’t it, for the developer to appeal an approval on the grounds that the condition is too tight, so if that’s the case, there is some success here.
It does concern me quite a lot – the measurement of amplitude modulation is far too tight. If we measure greater than expected amplitude modulation, it doesn’t say what to do. It just says you have to carry on measuring it. I’ll also need a legal opinion on what the remedy is.
# We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas # And a Happy New Year # Good tidings we bring… #
Whilst I’m really happy to get the decision, also in the back of my mind I’m thinking about him. He must be really sad. I know that he genuinely is concerned about the noise impact of this scheme. It is a real concern.
# …and bring some out here. #
What is really concerning is whether or not this decision will be challenged.
We have to wait six weeks to find that out, so I’m sort of expecting that it will be, although I’m really hoping that it won’t.
Six weeks later, Mike Hulme launches an appeal against Inspector Pykett’s decision.
The first ground of ten claims that Inspector Pykett erred in law as his AM condition fails to achieve the purpose it intended and contains no requirement on the operator to take steps to prevent AM, should it occur.
As the parties head once more back to the High Court, after six years, the war of words over Den Brook still continues.
I want everyone to love windfarms.
Six years when hopes and fears…
After all this time!
…divided a community, turned family members against each other.
A lot of NIMBYs in my opinion.
Six years when families’ lives stood still.
To be forced out of my home, my business, the lot… It’s awful.
They don’t believe it will generate any electricity.
And six years during which a global windfarm developer had still not achieved its mission to have Den Brook be the first windfarm they had built in England for 17 years.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media subtitling@bbc.co.uk
Windfarm Wars – episode 3
Source: BBC2
Transcript of Windfarm Wars, episode 3 (of 4), BBC2:
Nichols Nymet House Hotel in the heart of Devon.
It’s four weeks after a planning enquiry has decided to allow a windfarm to be built in the valley below.
This is encouraging, isn’t it?
A meeting’s been called at short notice.
Hi, I’m Muriel. We’re from Spreyton.
Hotel owner Muriel Goodman is praying for a good turnout.
She fears the windfarm will ruin her business.
Thanks for coming. Lovely to see you.
It’s a last-ditch attempt to stop the windfarm that’s divided the community.
I’ve been rattling chains…
It’s a battle that’s been going on for the last three years.
I’ll put two up for now and leave it at that.
There’s benefits to the farmers. The rental’s going to give them a stable, regular income. The windfarm is the dream of project developer Rachel Ruffle.
I want everyone to love windfarms and there not to be protesters.
So who’d like one of these in their garden?
At the public inquiry, the Den Brook Valley Action Group opposed the plans.
But one man took on the developers over his fears about windfarm noise.
They’re nicking our tranquillity. It’s highway robbery.
Absolutely no persuasive evidence that the noise measurements are anything other than professionally made, robust and reliable.
When the decision came through…
My God.
Rachel’s dream became reality. The windfarm would be built.
There’s not enough room to do a cartwheel!
But this story of how the battle for our future played out in one Devon valley is not over yet. An appeal could still be launched.
I’m really sorry.
Don’t worry! He got home about ten past six. Come in.
Muriel’s called her meeting with fellow campaigner Mike Hulme.
Here we go again. What we’re doing is, we’ve found what we see as a flaw in the noise condition.
Right. So we’re into the nitty-gritty.
RES say the windfarm will supply electricity for up to 1,300 homes. Hi! And bring jobs and investment.
Don’t know who I’m saying hello to! But they haven’t convinced the campaigners.
We need commitment on money tonight. Basically, it seems to me we’ve got one opportunity left if we want to do anything other than sit back and let this windfarm go ahead, and that is to make a challenge to this decision. There’s a case happened in Shipdham in Norfolk where a doctor challenged the appeal decision on the noise condition and has just won it. The dilemma is there’s no time. We’ve got 27 days to actually get it laid on the developers. John Constable of the Renewable Energy Foundation has effectively been nurturing me along this road because it needs people who are affected to make the challenge. It’s no good an outside organisation doing it. And he certainly recommends Susan Ring, the solicitor. She’s been there and done it before. I don’t really want to take this on on my own. I haven’t got the time and the expertise. I would like for everybody, as much as possible, to be involved. So if someone’s got a particular area they want looking at…
I think the noise issue is the one that we go with possibly, if we go with it, purely and simply because it is a way of making a judicial review or whatever.
It may not affect all of us noise-wise. Some of us may live miles away, some of us do, but it’s just a means to an end, I suppose.
You think there’s anyone in the area who’d be willing to underwrite the whole thing?
So you’re looking for people to sign up… To raise some money.
Really, to be honest with you, yes.
I actually brought my chequebook.
Oh, Quentin, you are wonderful.
To launch the challenge, Mike must instruct solicitors very soon.
This will initially cost about £3,000.
Is that something everyone can sign? Yeah. Well, separately.
I pledge to give the Den Brook…
They’ll need to launch an official fund, have a treasurer and give receipts for any pledges given.
Have you got pens? Take one and pass it on.
Bit by bit, what was to be called the Den Brook Judicial Review Fund comes into being.
Who would like to be the chairman? I don’t want to be.
Mike and Muriel had invited the former campaigners, the Den Brook Valley Action Group Committee, but at this stage, no-one was able to attend.
Who’s the treasurer?
Nick Jewell.
They’ve said that they’re not interested in following this noise condition approach.
The implication is that they are considering alternative approaches. I think they are.
In fact, the Den Brook Valley Action Group had taken legal advice that told them there is only a 20 percent chance any judicial review would succeed and a judge would be likely to act with benevolence towards the planning inspector’s decisions. As a group, they may well decide not to pursue further action.
And that doesn’t include the 1,000…
This leaves Mike and his new group very much on their own.
Did everybody hear there? No. Could our assistant…
Plus the 1,000 that’s already been pledged by… That’s brilliant.
2295. Plus 1,000. 3295. So we are nearly there. We’re close. There are a lot of other people who couldn’t come.
Can I just thank you all very much for coming.
Coffee is available when I go and make it if you’d like to stay for that, otherwise I’m closing the meeting.
Mike and Bashum’s cottage would be one of the closest to the Den Brook windfarm. They moved to Devon 30 years ago to live a low-impact lifestyle.
Mike’s earnings from his car maintenance business have plunged since he devoted time to fighting the development.
Their pension plan before the windfarm was to sell their home and move into the adjacent barn. The barn that would now have the full view and sound from the turbines.
We’ve got a serious global warming issue going on and if we don’t do something about it….
Mike had always struggled with his conscience about the need for the turbines and initially his relationship with the windfarm developer, Rachel Ruffle, had been friendly.
They just put it up for us special.
He allowed RES to do background noise readings on his property as long as he could have the data. But he became disillusioned by their actions.
I get the feeling they’ve just fobbed me off.
He questioned what he was being told by their noise expert, Dr Bullmore.
He was totally satisfied that that noise assessment was good.
Background noise measurements were carried out without due consideration and are unrepresentative for the area.
At the inquiry, he made his full concerns very public.
But his claims were strongly rebutted by RES’s lawyer.
Mr Trinick, any comments on that? Absolutely no persuasive evidence that background noise measurements are not professionally made, robust and reliable and representative of all relevant conditions. That would be very strongly resisted by us.
Yeah. There’s a control panel and a ladder.
Three weeks after Mike and Muriel’s meeting, Rachel is at a RES windfarm in Cornwall.
There’s a big red button. This is just a transformer housing that transforms it into a windfarm.
She’s with a BBC film crew from a regional news programme doing an item on windfarms.
Where else have you been?
These turbines are 45 metres to blade tip.
The Den Brook ones will be nearly three times as tall.
These will be turning at about 33rpm.
And the faster they go, the more noisy they are.
The new ones will be about 18 to 20rpm. They’re quieter.
There’s just two days to go before the deadline for a legal challenge to Rachel’s Den Brook windfarm. She doesn’t yet know there’s a judicial review in the offing, but she’s well aware it could be a possibility. There is a slight risk that the people who are against the windfarm will want to take the appeal to judicial review.
OK, that’s fine. But I can’t see that there is an obvious gap in the process where they could bring that kind of case.
They have six weeks after the decision date to do that so I think that might be coming up at the end of this week.
Will they be noisier? No, they won’t. In fact, they’ll be quieter. So I’m quite looking forward to the end of this week cos if they are going to do it, it’ll probably be at the last minute. I can’t see why they would. It would be a waste of everyone’s time and money and effort and resources. We also make sure much more now that the gearbox and the generator doesn’t produce mechanical noise. Unless there’s something that I’ve missed or our solicitors have missed, which is unlikely because they’re very experienced, I can’t see that they’re going to have a case and it’ll just end up wasting more time and money.
It’s the next day and with time running out, Mike and his colleagues are on a mission.
I’m just going up to the parish council meeting at Spreyton village hall to see if I can encourage them to help us financially with this little quest that we’re on.
The Den Brook Judicial Review Fund has grown to £16,500 in just over three weeks.
Mike’s had cheques in from a number of people whose cars he services and from friends all around the country.
They’re people I know and are keen to support and back us up and give us the opportunity to take this thing forward because there’s an injustice here.
And I think the parish council will probably be able to dip in, I don’t know, 500, 1,000 maybe.
Any particular place you’d want me to park?
Mike, Nick Jewell, the fund’s treasurer, and local resident Ruth are asked to wait outside while the parish council votes.
When they come out, the fund is £1,000 better off.
There is almost certainly an injustice.
It’s now their last chance to decide whether to go ahead.
Some members of the original protest group are supporting Mike’s challenge but the committee have confirmed tonight that they still think the chances are not good enough, so he and his group must go it alone.
That was a result, definitely.
His solicitor needs a decision by the morning so she has time to serve papers on the Secretary of State before the end of the week.
How do you feel about what she said? She said to me today, if we pull out after the first week, we’ve made the first stage, we get the reply from the Secretary of State and we panic and pull out, that’s £15,000. In total. That’s what she said to me.
We have enough to go that first stage.
Yeah. I’m keen to go for the first stage, certainly.
I mean, I don’t know what… I think Muriel’s emailed everyone and said she’s up for going, as well.
But if you decide that you don’t want me to go on the basis of what we’ve done, I’m still prepared to go with it.
They’re going to try and beat us, without a doubt.
Would she give you a percentage possibility? No. She wouldn’t.
She said to me yesterday better than 50.
And I said, “70 would be nice.”
SHE LAUGHS
And she said, “If it was 70, that would be a dead cert.”
We’re going to do it. Yeah, come on. Oh, you’ve done it. What would you say? What do you think I ought to say to Susan? Give me a clue. Well, we’ve got to instruct her. But do I say something very formal and proper? Yeah. Or do I say something like, “OK, Susan, let’s go for it”? Is that appropriate for a solicitor in a sort of challenge the government situation, do you reckon?
I don’t know, I just like to think people aren’t so cold and matter-of-fact about everything, that there is some humanity still out there.
Surely.
Well, there is, without a doubt.
I think just, “Please proceed to the next stage”.
Yep. Yeah? That sounds nice.
God, I’m just stumped for words.
Request the challenge, not a challenge, is probably better, isn’t it? The challenge on my behalf.
That’s good enough, isn’t it?
There’s nothing else we want to say, is there? Do you want to say anything? Send your best wishes?
Bonk! Take that, RES!
HE LAUGHS
This could be a major impact on my life, you realise this? You know? I shouldn’t be so flippant about it all.
And this is an appeal by Renewable Energy…
Mike’s claim argues that, as in the Shipdham case, the planning conditions imposed by the inspector at the Den Brook inquiry were imprecise, uncertain and unenforceable.
There’s 3,000 years of continuous human settlement in that valley.
He also argues the inspector failed to strike the right planning balance between the need for renewable energy developments and their effect on the special qualities of the landscape and of the conditions of those living and working nearby.
Data from the noise measurements have not been made available…
And finally, that the inspector relied on background noise levels provided by RES without ensuring that Mike had proper access to, and opportunity to comment on, the monitoring data that formed their basis.
Congratulations. Well done.
Rachel now knows about Mike’s challenge.
She’s on her way to see her partner, Steve, who, like her, works in Moretonhampstead, about 15 miles from the windfarm site.
When it came, we didn’t actually know what it was, what the challenge was.
But once I’ve seen the challenge, it was quite a shock that it was Mike doing the challenge.
It’s a real shame it’s come down to these two sides. Yeah. It’s gone from discussing it on a really open level to now, where we’d like to see the documentary just to see how it all came about. You never know. Initially, I was really concerned about the advice he was getting and wanted to go and see him and say, “Mike, are you sure about this, “cos these are the risks that you’re taking and this is what I think is going to happen” and just try and make him go and get some different advice.
You could do that now.
I could, but the advice I’ve got about doing that is that it would be perceived as intimidation.
SHE LAUGHS
Which is laughable, really, cos I don’t think Mike’s going to think I’m intimidating him, but maybe he does, maybe I’ve got the wrong idea.
The other obvious concern is that it’s going to cost him quite a lot of money to do this and what if we…
The win on the first defendant, the first defendant is the Secretary of State, and if they choose to go for costs, a claim for their costs, then Mike’s going to be liable for that.
It’s not money that’s going to stop us doing this. We’re doing something that’s real. People need to stand up to this sort of thing, because we’ve got right on our side, that’s the best way I can put it. We’re doing something that needs to be done. And if I was religious, I would say we’ve got God on our side, but I’m not particularly religious. Whoops. Steady on.
Does every windfarm have a challenge around the UK? Is it a common…
Yeah, it’s totally common and it’s totally common for this particular solicitor to make the challenge. There was a challenge at Shipdham on the same grounds. The grounds look suspiciously similar. But the condition is completely different.
Now Mike’s claim is in, it could be several months before he knows what sort of defence, if any, the Secretary of State will put forward.
He’s decided to get on the road and meet some of the people behind the stories that have inspired him to fight on. First stop, Norfolk.
This is Shipdham. Look at all this. This is manicured, isn’t it?
Hello! You must be Leigh. Yes. Hi!
How do you do? Nice to meet you. Yes. Don’t worry.
The whole experience is so horrible, isn’t it?
It is. It’s overwhelming.
We were told in 2002 by a noise expert, he said the standard noise condition that is dished out with windfarm applications is not enforceable. He said, “You must fight it, because once they’re up, “there is no way that you can do anything about preventing noise.” I’ll take you to show you the windfarm site.
Windfarm company Ecotricity probably didn’t know what they were taking on when they decided to build two turbines near to Leigh Maroney’s home.
Leigh is a science statistician. Her group have now fought two public inquiries to stop the Shipdham windfarm from being built and are awaiting a third to start. The turbines will be 100 metres high, the closest being 450 metres from her boundary.
That’s the anemometer. Is that where the nearest turbine would be?
No. They’ve put the anemometer, I guess, 100 or more metres back.
You see there’s a tree that’s actually ivy growing up through an old stump?
It would be about that distance from us and a little bit to the left of that and 100 metres high.
So the anemometer, which is further back, is 50 metres high. Right. So it’s twice that height.
The developers did no noise measurements at all. But they just said straight up, “Our turbines are good neighbours, “they will be inaudible at any property.”
They said they’d be inaudible? Inaudible. Really?
At our place, they said there would be no noise nuisance, which at least is a half-truth.
HE LAUGHS
But to say they’d be inaudible, I mean, that is just outrageous.
They’d taken no measurements and the council took no measurements. We took measurements.
One of Mike’s main concerns is a noise phenomenon called amplitude modulation.
It’s something like this blade swish he heard from the turbines he visited several miles from his home in Devon. If the Den Brook turbines are built, he fears he and Bash could well suffer from it.
Cos the actual noise is coming from the shuddering of the blade, I believe.
Mm.
The fact that the wind at the top of the blade is at a different speed to the wind at the bottom. And they can’t trim the blade to cope with the wind all the way along.
Yes.
Unless they come up with some multi-section blade, I suppose.
People say to us, “How have you managed to hold them back for six years?”
We haven’t held them back for six years because we have no power. The only reason it’s taken six years for them not to build two poxy turbines is that they have been utterly inept about doing the very simple things they’re supposed to do. And it sounds like you’ve had a much better relationship with RES.
Well, I’ve had a good relationship with the project manager. I never argued with Rachel. Whenever I spoke to her or emailed her… If she said something which outraged me, I would just let it go. I didn’t go back at her. I mean, she did say things at times like, “You don’t own the view” and you want to get hold of her and throttle her. But you don’t. You just let it go and then once she’s gone it’s, “How dare she?” She’s a scientist at the end of the day. She’s not a sales person. I don’t think she could knowingly tell a lie. So did you have an official or some qualified acoustician involved in that?
I took the measurements. I am a scientist and that was the sort of thing that I used to do.
So if you were given raw noise data, would you understand what it was?
We did get given raw noise data. We did our own raw noise data and the developers gave us their raw noise data.
If I do ever get this data, you would possibly be able to sort of… Absolutely.
It would mean something to you, when it wouldn’t mean anything to me.
It certainly would. If you ever get any, I would very much like to see it. We have access to vast computer resources, so we’ve got the machinery that can analyse this.
Eventually, Leigh’s fight with Ecotricity put her in contact with the charity REF, the Renewable Energy Foundation. She’s now a director of this research organisation. REF campaign for what they argue are efficient renewable energy sources. They are deeply critical of the government’s reliance on on-shore windfarm technology.
In Lincolnshire, Mike’s arranged to meet a couple who were perfectly happy with the prospect of having turbines near their home. Until, that is, they were actually operating.
Same crop in the field here as next to Leigh Maroney’s. Rapeseed oil, wasn’t it?
They are not the first to arrive.
Sound expert Mike Stigwood is setting up his recording equipment. He’s been invited there by the property’s owner.
Hi, I’m Mike Hulme.
Nice to meet you. Long journey?
I stayed with Leigh Maroney overnight.
She’s pretty switched on.
She certainly is. She knows her stuff, I think.
She does and she’s been following the topic.
Absolutely.
Jane Davis doesn’t spend much time at her house. She and her husband Julian made the national press with the story that they’d had to move out of their home to rented accommodation because they claim that in certain weather conditions, the noise from the nearby turbines was so disturbing, they couldn’t sleep.
Hi, good to meet you. And you.
Jane and Julian have put their plans to develop their house on hold as they struggle to find a solution to their dilemma.
Have you shown them the sad things in the workshop?
No.
Shall we get the tears over and done with, then I don’t have to cry again? Bits and pieces for our new house. The rest of the showers and the Rayburn. That’s the thing that always makes me wobble.
Because it’s on hold?
Well, we’ve been told not to proceed with any…
There’s no point because we can’t sleep here, there’s not much point redeveloping if you’re not going to be able to sleep in it.
So I get upset at this point.
Do you mind us coming?
No, I don’t. Just to warn you, I get upset.
The Davises knew the turbines were being built but had no reason to be concerned as they went away on holiday.
But when they came back, they were deeply shocked.
We thought that there must be something wrong with them.
We couldn’t believe that anybody would put something up that could make such a noise, that they would be allowed to do that. The government wouldn’t let them put something up that was going to damage us in that way. Surely. Well, we know better now.
In fact, the government have shown concern about AM noise from turbines.
They’ve commissioned Salford University to do a report to find out exactly what the problem with AM is.
As Mike visits Lincolnshire, the report is expected very soon.
This is the bit I find really, really upsetting. I don’t think we’re ever going to be able to do what we wanted to do. This has been Julian’s home for 30 years. It’s really quite hard to be deprived of your home by a policy that’s supposed to be really green. There is noise from them. There is. We’ve got some nice music for you.
This is the recording that Julian’s done.
WIND WHOOSHES
And if that’s the level they’re getting, that’s awful.
That really is dreadful.
Of course, the sound is magnified through the speakers. But Jane and Julian think it best represents the feel of what it’s like to live with the turbines. In her struggle to get help, Jane feels she’s just been passed from pillar to post.
DEFRA. “Information available on the DTI website. We suggest you contact the DTI.”
Communities and Local Government. “Thank you for your letter. I’m sure you weren’t satisfied by the reply and we’d advise what action you might take…”
Windfarm noise is regulated by agreed industry guidelines. But AM often falls outside these restrictions. So the turbines by Jane’s property are not necessarily breaking any rules.
The planning inspectors I know aren’t happy. Both the local authority and site operators say they are monitoring the situation and independent analysts have assessed the noise impact. But so far, no breach of conditions is evident.
The Davises claim that these turbines make their worst noise only during certain weather conditions, high winds from the south. Today they’re relatively quiet, but windier weather is expected. Jane and Julian’s daughter Emily has the bedroom that’s most affected. Over the coming months, Mike Stigwood plans to record the full range of noise frequencies with his sophisticated equipment.
This is brand new. So in a way, we’re at the cutting edge of what we’re doing here, as opposed to what we might have done a year or so ago.
The next day and the weather is set to change.
The agency have advised that we wouldn’t be able to sell it because of the noise problems.
So it’s not worth anything at all. So all this should’ve started last July when we came back from holiday.
It’s about eight o’clock in the evening. The conditions change as expected. But they’ll probably only be about two thirds as bad as Jane and Julian have told Mike it can get.
WHOOSHING
That is pretty much what we heard…
What we’re hearing as Mike and Bash listen is sound taken from the camera.
The recordings from Mike Stigwood’s more sophisticated equipment show what’s actually happening. In this graphic of variations in noise levels recorded in the same bedroom one year later, the erratic woomph of the turbines can be clearly seen. It’s a sound with clear characteristics. But to cut out noises like passing cars, the guidelines that govern windfarm noise ignore all but the quietest ten percent of noise in each ten-minute period, which has the effect of removing any noise peaks, so the woomphs may not be an infringement. But of course, the Davises may have been woken up by the woomphs of the amplitude modulation. And if so, it seems there’s very little they can do about it. And because it happens erratically, only in certain conditions, Jane can’t call out the council at short notice to take readings. For her, it’s the regulations that are the problem. They were agreed many years ago with the development of what were then much smaller turbines.
But there’s possibly another problem, too. Low-frequency noise. Mostly it’s below our hearing range. But if it’s also penetrating this bedroom then it could be a cause for concern. On the left of this section of Mike Stigwood’s graph, you can see the low-frequency noise in the Davis’ bedroom. Most of the low-frequency noise goes off the scale. Mike believes that the AM that the Davises claim disrupts their sleep contains excess low-frequency noise. But experts disagree as to whether there’s evidence that it has any detrimental effects.
It doesn’t really matter if there is or isn’t, but low-frequency noise is something that, for some people, is a problem and that’s the end of it.
It’s the age-old problem. We don’t do enough research. We just plough on.
We never thought about having a full structural survey done on our house before the windfarm went up. There are cracks that have been there for years that are now bigger cracks. Things fall off shelves that never did before. I’m satisfied in my own mind that there is a real problem with noise. I’ve now experienced it for real and that convinces me that what we’re doing is valid and we need to continue with it. We’re challenging a major injustice. They should be upfront and addressing this problem and not trying to brush it under the carpet and pretend it’s not an issue.
One month later, after meeting at Jane Davis’s, Mike Stigwood has come to see Den Brook for himself.
I’m surprised. I wouldn’t expect a location like this to be used because it is a very quiet location. The alarm bells are definitely sounding on this particular one at this stage. The way they’ve laid them out, seems to me they’re asking for a bit of turbulence. Yes, through them. Through a wake effect. Now, I suspect… And that’s going to… Absolutely. That’s my worry.
The government report into AM has just been published. Instead of taking measurements, they asked Salford University to look at how many complaints about AM noise had been logged with local authorities. They found that over the past 15 years, they were a very small percentage.
But as AM mostly affects the new generation of turbines built more recently, Mike’s got his doubts about the methodology.
The government are telling us that there isn’t a problem. Yes. But what we need is… We need a peer review of that. But every page you turn, every line you read, it’s, “Why did you do that? Surely what about this?” That’s another major pitfall with that thing, it’s looking at two different technologies.
In fact, they aren’t the only sceptics.
Shortly after the Salford publication, it is reported that one of the top acousticians advising the government resigns.
It says Dick Bowdler disagrees with the government’s conclusions.
In a press release, they say: But he claims more research was expected to identify up to ten potential sites at which further objective measurements could be carried out.
The government has just accepted the report’s findings and doesn’t intend to do further research.
Even I can see the way they’ve shifted the ground to prove their point.
I think it’s absolutely wonderful the way he’s got the energy to continue with this. It’s wonderful. I’m trying to support him as much as I can all the time.
Hey, you! There’s still no indication of when the high court challenge will be heard.
Come on, then, this way.
But as Mike’s spending so much time preparing for it, his earnings from his car maintenance business are even worse than before.
We’re basically living off our capital, which is not a good idea, but as far as I’m concerned, we’ve got no choice.
Yeah, we’ve done about 300 or 400.
Oh, wow! How long have you been at it?
If the Secretary of State defends the challenge, Mike’s group will need deep pockets. But they now have the former campaign group’s list of supporters to target.
Yeah, that’s just right. Amazingly, we’ve actually raised quite a lot.
Nearly 30,000, yes, in a year is not bad going. People have come from far and wide, actually. I mean, the Lake District, all over. Amazing! It very much says to RES that this isn’t NIMBYs at all, it’s not just local people, other people are…
But 30,000 might not be enough.
It could totally wipe me out financially, I suspect.
If things don’t… If they choose to… I mean, it’s stupidity if you think about trying to take on Robert McApline. That’s what we’re doing.
Have you rung anybody up yet?
No.
I’ll come back half past one, two o’clock, I’ll call in again then.
Thanks. See you later. Cheers. Thank you!
I feel I’ve got to do this, you know? If I don’t do this, I won’t be able to live with myself.
A court hearing date has now been set for just three months’ time.
But with no defence yet from the Secretary of State, Mike’s side have asked for a delay while the court decides how the case will proceed.
For farmer Martin Tucker, it can’t come quick enough. He hopes to have five of RES’s turbines on his land.
Oh, bloody trailer.
RES are bringing in some specialist equipment to take further readings up in the windfarm site.
Are they here? They’re here.
Rachel Ruffle has been project-managing the Den Brook windfarm for over three years. RES have just promoted her to development director UK and Ireland so she’s now a director of the company, too. But she’ll remain managing Den Brook, which means seeing it through the high court process as well as taking on her new responsibilities.
Oh, hi. I forgot to tell you something. I asked Dominic to set up the company and he was umming and ahhing a bit but I think we should just set it up anyway, don’t you?
Ladies are walking to warm up. I think it’s good for us to walk.
Yeah. It is windy.
It’s windy.
The LiDAR laser equipment they’re bringing in will give them a full picture of wind data at all the different heights of the turbine’s operation.
There’s a slightly unusual sheer pattern to the northwest and we think it might be to do with those trees.
Yeah.
It’s called wind sheer uncertainty. So the vertical wind speed is called wind sheer and we’re trying to reduce the wind sheer uncertainty.
Wind sheer seems a common concern.
It’s Mike Hulme’s worry that if the turbines are built, different wind speeds between the top and the bottom of the blades, wind sheer, could be the cause of AM noise, from which he might suffer.
It’s been impossible for him to check that as RES has never given out the wind speed data nor the raw noise data Mike says they promised him.
If we release all the data into the public domain, I don’t think that would change anything.
The argument would just move on to, “We’ve done our analysis and we come out with 7.27 and you’ve said 7.16.” That’s what’s happened before.
We’re measuring five different heights…
RES are keen to get on and build the windfarm. They want the court hearing out of the way. But they’ve heard Mike’s side want a delay.
We’ve already been waiting over a year for this day and we’re not happy for it to be moved back any more. We’re quite looking forward to the day. Wish it was sooner.
Trinick is likely to be the one that we are facing at the high court.
In the new year, Mike’s group have an update meeting. The court has now set a timetable and the Secretary of State will put forward a defence.
Mike’s group now have £35,000 in the bank.
But their costs are rising.
Ideally, they should attend a case conference in London with their barrister who’ll be representing them in court.
Do you think it’s important?
To go for this conference?
Yeah. It’d be nice to meet the guy but to pay five grand to meet a guy…
THEY LAUGH
In the long run… I mean, basically, you’ve got to meet them.
Both Ruth and Claire have legal backgrounds and they’ll also be living close to the turbines.
You don’t want them leaving it till the eleventh hour, doing it the night before.
So let’s go for it, then. Yep. Thanks ever so much. Thank for coming.
Mike’s group have to have their skeleton evidence in in just 15 days’ time. The Secretary of State will then respond and all parties must be ready for court on or before March 19th. So the London case conference is now very necessary.
What if your barrister says your prospects are no good?
I won’t believe him.
You’re spending dangerously, aren’t you?
Well, I’m spending a lot of money for some duff advice as far as I’m concerned. I mean, I believe what we’re doing is right.
It’s got to be at least 30 years since I’ve been into the centre of London, I would guess. I would think this is where your 80 percent of people who support windfarms live. I came here originally because I couldn’t stand the hustle and bustle of the city. And I’ve lived there. And I feel that a lot of people on this planet miss out on this. You know, you live in a place like this, you’re going to think, “Brilliant, windfarms, wonderful idea. Architecturally with merit for many and it allows us to carry on living like this. Brilliant. But let’s stick them down in the sticks in Cornwall and Devon.” Which is fair enough, as long as they don’t stick them right outside your back door and ruin the lives that we’ve created for ourselves.
The bulk of this is the stuff that Trinick sent me with his witness statement. Oh, I’ve never seen this.
Mike stops off to brief Leigh Maroney, who he met previously at her house in Shipdham.
She’ll be coming to lend support at the meeting, together with Ruth and Claire.
Is this the courts? Yes. This is where we’ll be in a months’ time.
I’ll come up with my shepherd’s crook. Thanks.
Their case conference is with environmental planner specialist barrister David Forsdick. Susan Ring, Mike’s solicitor, has arranged the meeting.
First of all, did you understand the limited role of judicial review in these sorts of challenges?
The inspector’s made the decision on merits and we’ve got to find a legal flaw in the way either the inspector’s approached it or the condition to deal with the noise problem. What I need to understand is, what precisely was the data you said you needed?
There was the background noise measurements that were taken using the monitoring microphone devices.
Fine. OK. And the reason you say you need that is because this scattergraph was prepared by RES, not by Dr Bullmore.
Yep.
And Dr Bullmore worked on the assumption that it was accurate and sufficient without allowing you to analyse the data behind it.
Mm.
Right. I mean, as I became more knowledgeable, the developer became more and more resistant to giving me information, as you might well expect.
We’ve got to work with the evidence that was before the inspector…
The fact-finding continues for most of the afternoon as David Forsdick gathers the material for his skeleton argument, due in in a few days’ time.
In a quiet area, they tend to drop down towards 15 decibels.
Once the meeting turns to giving advice, we’ve agreed to stop filming.
Are you all OK, then? Yep. Thank you very much. Thank you.
I was expecting walking out of here with, “Yeah, we’re going to get them!”
HE LAUGHS
I think we just need to mull it over for a day and get a feel for him.
Cos it’s a whole new idea. I wasn’t anticipating this at all.
The meeting has been more complicated than Mike expected.
I like the way he didn’t mince his words. Absolutely.
And concentrating largely on his particular noise issues, Mike worries it could compromise his neighbours’ and supporters’ allegiance.
But as sole claimant, Mike could be liable for all costs if he lost.
I’ve got to weigh up, are they going to put me on the cross and burn me if I go down the route which is possibly in my best interests and not in everybody else’s?
They being all your neighbours.
They being the neighbours.
I’ve got to live where I live and I don’t want my neighbours thinking, “The bastard sold out!”
So this is how it normally is up here, is it? God, what a nightmare.
Over the next few days, Mike works with his solicitor bringing together the arguments reflecting his and his supporters’ and neighbours’ concerns.
At the end of the week, he puts in his skeleton argument and witness statement.
Much of it is as it was in his statement of claim regarding the balance arguments, inadequacies in the planning conditions and breach of natural justice.
But in his witness statement, things had to become more personal, too.
Mike has to supply email evidence that he had consistently asked Rachel for the data. Rachel’s now been working as development director UK and Ireland at RES head office for three months. She’s yet to consult her counsel but she’s confident of RES’s case.
Mike Hulme has submitted his skeleton argument and he’s submitted another witness statement, which is this here. Do you think there’s any very awkward things in there from your point of view?
No. No, not at all.
You’re confident.
Pretty much, yeah. Yeah. The main thrust is the fact that we didn’t give them the background noise data, which is why I’ve blown these up, cos this has been published since we published the ES in 2004, 2005. This is the background noise data. If it was me and I really wanted that data, that was my whole life, I would just do this and measure it off the graph, it’s all there.
It’s published. It’s been in the public domain years. So I just think…
There is no other data that Mike could’ve had?
This is the data. No, this is the data.
If this was really all the data Mike needed, then some of Rachel’s emails she submitted as exhibits Mike thought were surprising, including one written in May 2006 in which she said, “I don’t think providing you with the noise data will help you as you don’t have a noise propagation model “and I do not have a budget to provide you with hours of technical support to interpret the data.”
They tried to say that it wouldn’t be worth my while having the data because I wouldn’t understand it, which is a bit patronising, to say the least.
In his witness statement, Mike was saying that if he’d been given the data he claimed he was promised, he’d have consulted a noise expert he’d previously conversed with, Dick Bowdler, to examine it.
He said, presumably, that he wanted more data.
Yeah, that’s what he said he wanted.
And then he could’ve given it to an expert to look at.
He’s saying that now, which is the first he’s ever said that.
We’ve always been totally happy to give the data to Dick Bowdler because we know he’s an acoustic expert and he can do it. We wouldn’t have a problem.
Just like we gave the data to Andrew Bullmore.
Dick Bowdler is no great windfarm fan or supporter.
That’s just the counsel trying to bolster up Mike’s case.
It’s ridiculous. It’s just not practical. If Mike Hulme lost this, would he have to pay your costs?
We will be applying for costs, yeah, because we don’t think that he’s the one behind it, we think he’s probably got backers. So far, everything just points to the fact that the Renewable Energy Foundation are behind it. And they have been behind it since the time of the inquiry.
Mike Hulme entirely refutes this.
The consequence is for me, for my team, for my whole life spending defending these ridiculous challenges. And if you do something, then you should accept the consequences.
He says that REF are not funding him at all.
One thing that came up in the conference was the costs.
We hadn’t realised how the costs had been escalating. It’s become apparent that although we’ve raised what was initially estimated to be the required amount to cover the costs of the case, that we’re already well over that amount in terms of what we already owe our solicitors and legal people. If we lose, I will be liable for the costs and we haven’t actually got enough money in the pot now, it appears, to cover those costs. I mean, there will be a point where we’ll say, “No, we can’t risk our home. What are we going to do?” Cos they’ll take it, you know?
Less than a month before the high court hearing, the lawyers for the first defendant, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, lodge their skeleton case. They argued the planning conditions were clear and enforceable and that there was no procedural unfairness against the claimant, Mike Hulme.They said that it had been open to him, if he so wished, to have commissioned his own noise survey to demonstrate that RES’s background noise levels were wrong. They also argued that at the inquiry, Mike Hulme had been able to cross-examine Dr Bullmore but had declined to do so.
It’s so ludicrous, it barely merits consideration because to do a background noise assessment, you have to relate the measurements taken at the property to the wind speed that’s taken on the site. Well, if they’re not going to let me have the background noise data, are they going to let me have the wind speed measurements? I think highly unlikely.
On 29th February, Rachel issues her witness statement.
Part of it refers to her initial discussion with Mike about the data.
Rachel now says there’d been a misunderstanding on his part and that their discussion about what would be provided related not to the raw data but to the results of the assessment of the processed data.
You know, I’m honestly shocked. I know the truth is that we agreed that I would have the data. There’s no question, no question in my mind at all. She’s trying to say that it wasn’t the data, it was what they were going to produce in the ES. Why on earth would I want the stuff that they were going to give me anyway?
I forgot my tape measure. You’ve got it? I’ve forgot it.
What do you want your tape measure for?
To measure you up for your suit.
I think that’s what we’re coming here for, isn’t it, so they can measure me up?
Well, here’s a rare occasion. What is?
I rang up about, I don’t know, just over a week ago about renting a suit.
Mr Hulme.
That’s it, that’s me.
I want something that’s suitable for an appearance in the high court in London.
I want something that turns me from a local yokel into someone who looks half respectable.
Yeah, I think the black one. That’ll look sharper and smarter.
And how much is that going to cost me?
That one is…
Unless you want to donate it to our fund.
Then if we win the case, imagine! You’re going to be inundated.
HE LAUGHS
Right, if I just take your details.
He’s a different assistant to the one that was there last time. It was a different person that served me.
It all helps spread the word, as well.
Yes. And what occurred to me was that he might not be sympathetic and on your side, he might be for this kind of industrialisation. That’s fair enough.
Rachel’s now moved nearer to RES in Hemel Hempstead and has been in her new home for just a few days.
Just moving up here is a big lifestyle change. I’d say my immediate lifestyle’s probably worse. You know, the surroundings are more cramped and noisy and also I work harder, see less of the kids. But the children are older now and I want to do the job well and build more windfarms, it’s like producing things.
It’s the day before the hearing.
Hi, it’s Rach here. I’ve just heard that the exact court where it’s going to be held is on the website.
Suddenly, at nine o’clock this morning, I had to print this lot off. Along with the request for me to print this, I got a request for £17,500 to be sent by today to our legal team.
I think we’ve got quite a strong case, yeah. I’m looking forward to it. Bit nervous, but just because I’ve never been in a court before. I just don’t know what it’s going to be like.
Can you jot this down? Court 65. Justice Mitting. M-I-T-T-I-N-G.
If the challenge succeeds, it’ll just be like, “How many hoops do we have to jump through to get this done?” It would feel like it’s more onerous to build a windfarm than it is to build a nuclear power station. If we can’t build a windfarm there, it’s almost like you can’t build a windfarm anywhere.
London, here we come!
Has he gone in? Hey! Hello!
I’ll take the money.
You take the money.
Oh, my glasses. Yeah, I’ve got them.
You mean your intelligent specs?
We won’t make too much of a crunching sound.
Have you got something to write on?
About 300 pages of documents.
How do you think Rachel will be feeling now?
She’s feeling very bullish, I would imagine.
Actually, come to think of it, I think she’s probably feeling very apprehensive.
We haven’t got any sofas yet.
Are you sitting on the floor?
I bought two old granddad chairs from the auctions.
No-one’s really challenged noise in a big way before, as far as I understand, because they’ve got it so well sewn up.
So it’s straight through here and then up. Up and left.
Do you know the order of things, how they’re going to go? No.
Bit stressful this morning. Nearly missed the train, so that was a bit, “Oh, no!” But yeah, I’m glad I’m here and I’m on time, so yeah.
This is just surreal, the whole situation. Totally surreal. What am I doing stood here in a suit in the middle of a street in London outside the main court of the country? My rightful place is in a field down in Devon.
Inside the court, cameras aren’t allowed.
But initially, as the judge criticised some of RES’s actions, Mike and Bash thought prospects for their future enjoyment of their rural tranquillity seemed promising.
There it is. What’s that?
But they soon diminished.
The judge seemed to be understanding of our situation. And then as he progressed through his judgement, the realisation became clearer and clearer that we weren’t winning.
Lord Justice Mitting felt the planning conditions should be interpreted benevolently, so he ruled they were enforceable. He believed the inquiry inspector had in all respects behaved appropriately and properly. And even if the data was wrong, the expected increase in noise level produced by the turbines would fall well short of the upper limit imposed. So the Den Brook windfarm would be built.
But as Rachel came out, it became apparent that not everything had gone RES’s way.
Very early on in the case, the judge said that he couldn’t believe our attitude and our approach to Mike, that we hadn’t given him the data, and the reasons we’d given him were not good reasons.
I don’t think any developer is going to refuse background noise data again to anyone who asks. And I also think that RES are going to have to think very seriously about what the judge has said about them. They were severely criticised.
And they haven’t even got their costs.
Was it 16,000 RES went for? Yes.
15-something, wasn’t it?
It’s saved me going into serious doo-doo financially.
You could always ask again. Ask for the data?
They can only say no. Actually, that would be an interesting thing to do.
I think you should ask for it. I think it would be well worth a letter.
In fact, the opportunity to ask for the data comes rather earlier than Mike was perhaps anticipating.
So are you going to let me have the data?
Yeah. Would’ve been easier. It would’ve been a lot easier. What a waste of time and money.
Yeah.
Just over a load of data.
Yeah.
So if I write to you and ask for the data… Cos I really would like to see what is going on.
I’m sure that’d be fine. Ultimately, it won’t be my decision.
So at least something came out of it all. The little man can get something from the big company.
I don’t see it like that. I see myself as a little woman against a whole big anti-windfarm campaign.
Anyway…
No, hardly.
See you.
I hope so.
RES would well know from all their past experience that everything is not over yet. Mike now has 14 days in which he could technically seek leave to appeal.
I’ll put the light on.
What’s that? Oh! Who’s that from, then?
Pippa and Barry next door.
Congratulations or commiserations. Aw, how sweet.
Well, I think it’s congratulations, personally.
We won.
We won RES but we didn’t win the inspector.
That’s the top and bottom of it, isn’t it?
So where is it, then? The data? The data!
It’s everything you asked for. Basically, they used the wrong data.
It’s all over. They’ve conceded.
Oh!
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is an inquiry into an appeal by RES… Eight days of a new inquiry and we’re not even going to be discussing noise at all.
If nine 120-metre-high turbines are not visually intrusive, what development would be, please?
The word intrusive is, in my view, slightly pejorative.
You really believe all the people who live near windfarms aren’t important? People live near motorways, in cities, in towns.
I think you’ve got a lovely, ideal life set in the heart of Devon.
Go and enjoy it and stop whinging.
Bash, do you want to come up? It’s in.
Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
Oh, blimey.
PHONE RINGS
Hello?
My gut feeling is this isn’t the end of the story.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media subtitling@bbc.co.uk
Aesthetics, England, Noise, Property values, Regulations, Siting, Tourism •
Windfarm Wars – episode 2
Source: BBC2
Transcript of Windfarm Wars, episode 2 (of 4), BBC2:
This is our best bedroom here. We have people who just literally sit here in the day and look at the view. From that tree there, all the way across the top of those trees, well above the skyline, is where the turbines will be.
Hotel owner Muriel Goodman first learnt six years ago that developers were planning to build a windfarm in the shallow Devon valley below her hotel.
If they go up, there’s no way we’ll stay.
That is a hell of a sign. Yeah, it is, isn’t it?
Farmer Martin Tucker wants the windfarm.
He’ll get five turbines on his land.
Morning, Mr Tucker.
He’s keen to help the environment and he’ll get a chance to retire on the proceeds.
So if we get it, it’s a result.
But there’s been fierce opposition.
Look. Can you believe it?
A few turbines around is not going to affect it that much.
Who’d like one of these in their garden?
The windfarm is the dream of project manager Rachel Ruffle.
I want everyone to love windfarms. And there not to be protesters.
But Rachel’s plans fell apart as the local council voted on the proposal.
That is carried. The application is refused.
But it’s not over yet.
If we decide we’re going to go to appeal then I’ll revisit it.
It’s a story of the biggest dilemma facing the modern world.
We’ve got a serious global warming issue at the moment. And if we don’t do something about it, we are going to leave a dreadful legacy for the next generation. It’s about the sacrifices we’re asked to make.
There’s 3,000 years of continuous human settlement in that valley. And after which, it’s as beautiful as it is today.
And it’s about how the battle for our future played out in one Devon valley.
Is it the same as usual? It is, yeah.
SHE LAUGHS
Oh, dear.
Muriel Goodman bought her hotel for its outstanding position and views.
They won’t even admit that it will affect our business because the company’s saying it’s a tourist attraction.
If the developers do appeal and win, she’s worried her business will go under.
The view is going to be completely ruined for absolutely nothing.
Here we go. Thank you. It’s very hot.
That landscape… It would be like a blot, wouldn’t it? Terrible.
There is a possibility they might not appeal. We’ve heard nothing from them. They still, as far as we’re aware, have made no decision.
The first thing we did when we came here was to plough all the ground up. Cos we were going to be self-sufficient, weren’t we?
Mike and Bashum’s cottage on the other side of the valley will be just over a kilometre from the nearest turbine.
They moved to Devon 30 years ago to live a low-impact lifestyle.
Their retirement plan before the windfarm was suggested was to sell the cottage, pay off the mortgage and move into the adjacent barn. The barn that now overlooks the windfarm site.
The view is more important to Bash than it is to me. My main concern is the noise.
BIRDS TWEET
I enclose this press release announcing our decision to appeal West Devon Borough Council’s refusal for planning permission for the Den Brook Windfarm proposal.
OK, gone.
From her office nearby, the developer’s project manager, Rachel Ruffle, is at last breaking the news that her company, RES, Renewable Energy Systems, is challenging the council’s decision.
I sent that email out this morning.
I’ve got lots of messages back saying, “Well done,” “Glad you’re appealing”.
If it goes through, I’m moving. I have no choice. Business has gone. You know, to be forced out of my home, my business, the lot, it’s just awful.
One from Mike Hulme, who lives near the project. He’s very worried that it’s going to a cause noise nuisance. As much as you can explain, until it’s there and happening, he’s not going to believe it.
I really do wonder if they’ve actually experienced a windfarm for more than a close-up visit.
Rachel also sends out the press release to the Den Brook Valley Action Group, who vigorously oppose the windfarm.
The only thing this is going to do is generate profit for a large company at very, very little benefit to anybody who’s actually paying for all this lot.
Everything’s been quiet in the area at the moment but obviously when they realise the appeal’s gone in, I’m sure things will kick off again.
Now there will be a public inquiry.
Go on, shoo! Shoo! Come here, you wicked girls.
The date for the public inquiry has not been set yet but the council have written to see who’ll wish to be what’s called a Rule Six party and be represented by a barrister.
For individuals like Muriel and Mike, it’s a difficult issue.
RES, big company, got plenty of money, you think, “What hope have I got?” They are one of the biggest developers in the country. They are going to have the best barrister. They’re not going to have someone who’s just come in off the street. They’ll have someone who really knows their stuff. It is a bit like a court. It’s going to be obviously quite nerve-racking. Big money against no money, it’s that sort of thing. We haven’t got a hope.
Developing the Den Brook windfarm has been expensive for RES. But the government promotes the growth of renewable energy by making it a lucrative business. And each county has ambitious government targets to meet. Devon has had to plan for 151 megawatts of renewable energy by 2010.
They don’t look like they’re generating to me.
So far, they’ve only reached 20 percent of their target.
Three megawatts of it are from this small windfarm run by another company 30 miles from Den Brook.
When he first came here more than a year ago, Mike was very worried by what he heard.
WHIRRING
Anybody who says they can’t hear that is hard of hearing.
We trade…
Mike had started with a good relationship with Rachel. No, no.
It’s just… I use…
And he gave RES permission to record background noise levels at his home, as long as they let him have the data. But when the time came for him to hand in his submissions to the council, they hadn’t let him have the data.
I was waiting for some information from RES and I get the feeling they’ve fobbed me off.
There’s another three being proposed on the other side of the village.
He’d like to tackle RES about his noise concerns at the inquiry. But he’s nervous about performing in public.
If I try and put myself up as an expert witness, their high-powered barristers and experts will just tear me to shreds.
I’ll undermine my own credibility and that’s what their intention will be.
RES say the windfarm will supply electricity for up to 13,000 homes and bring jobs and investment to the area. But before everything can be examined at the inquiry, Rachel has work to do. She’s bringing in contractors to test-excavate the top layers of soil at the windfarm site. The area’s rich in archaeological history and she has to show the turbine bases won’t disturb any remains. Each turbine will stand on 270 cubic metres of concrete.
Nice bit of wind today. Yeah. A lot cooler today, isn’t it? Yeah. There’s a lot of opposition. It’s not masses of people but it’s a group of people who are quite vociferous and quite rich. Yeah. We’ll build them far enough that they’re not going to create a noise nuisance. You’ll be able to see them.
Do you do them all over the country? Yeah.
Rachel’s excavation work finds no evidence of remains on site.
Hi, Maureen. All right?
Matters arising. Most of them are on the agenda.
The action group are meeting to prepare for the inquiry.
We agreed that we would appoint a junior barrister rather than a QC and a particular barrister was proposed.
They’re fundraising, but some are acting as guarantors to legal costs.
So if they lose, they could be individually liable for thousands of pounds.
We’ll pass on to the next item which is registration as a charity.
They’re wondering if becoming a charity could protect them.
And I don’t mind if it then takes another year but I would get my money back.
Remember, if we defeat RES, the next power company will be right on their heels making the same sort of application. I don’t think this is the end of the day.
I think we may find our charitable status…
The inquiry date’s been set for just six weeks’ time.
I know I would be apprehensive in that situation.
I’m sure you would. I’m sure most people are. Yeah.
Mike’s still trying to decide whether to open himself up to cross-examination.
The legal profession that does these planning inquiries would generally say an appearance is going to make more impact than simply a written document.
Could you ask the parties…
His friend Adam has a lot of experience of planning procedures.
I mean, you’ve written a letter which sets out things that you think the inspectors should explore?
I’ve basically written a letter pointing to what I see as being flaws in the assessment that’s been done.
Mike’s been doing his own research.
One type of turbine noise, something like this blade swish…
WHIRRING
…is called amplitude modulation, or AM. And some experts say it’s not fully taken into account in the industry guidelines.
It isn’t mentioned in RES’s noise assessment, either.
Mike’s concerned that while it may be windy on the windfarm site, he’s often noticed still air conditions around his property, so he’s worried AM noise could easily travel that far.
So Mike asked the inspector to make certain that suitable planning conditions would be put in place to protect living conditions at neighbouring properties.
I’ve made suggestions as to what I think I would like to see done if the development is going to be approved.
So the other side are going to say these are not flaws.
I would think so, yeah. Almost certainly.
So the cross-examination is going to, among other things, include, “Mr Hulme, this is not a flaw, is it?
“Because our expert, who unlike you has actually used a noise meter…”
And is qualified and has got 15 years’ experience.
I think that’s the point where you just say, “Mr Inspector, I’m not an expert.
“I’ve got these doubts. They seem to me doubts.
“I can’t answer this question but I would like you to make sure that I’m not…”
None if this is significant. Significance level, not significant.
Action group member John Welsby and his wife Jill have their set of RES’s environmental statement documents for just 24 hours.
The group have only one copy, so it’s circulating around committee members.
What they’ve actually said in the documentation is that they’ve enumerated the properties that are within a three-kilometre radius of the site. I see.
The windmills are not in the centre of the site, they’re spread out all over, and therefore, as a consequence, all these things get left out.
So if you take the three kilometres from where the windmills are, surprise, surprise, it encompasses all Bow, it encompasses all North Tawton and it encompasses Spreyton, which on their diagram here are all shown as being outside that three-kilometre area. It’s carefully designed to put the best possible slant on what they’re proposing. Mm. It’s a good job we didn’t have to rely on these people to put somebody on the moon is all I can say.
A month before the full inquiry, the inspector calls a pre-meeting.
My name is David Lavender and I’m the inspector that’s been appointed to determine the appeal.
But I do need to know who else is present today and the nature of their interest.
RES’s case will be advocated by Marcus Trinick, a veteran of some 350 public inquiries.
He’s a windfarm specialist and a board member of industry body The British Wind Energy Association.
It seems to me that the principle issues in this appeal would be the need for sustainable energy generation, secondly…
Inspector Lavender reminds everyone that he has to conduct the inquiry within the boundaries of government guidance.
I guess that you don’t mean that we’re going to be debating the merits of government policy. Presumably that means that the interpretation of what existing policy does say is a relevant matter.
It is relevant, what is says at the moment, yes. The interpretation of what it says. The interpretation of what it says is a de facto matter.
Thank you.
The question of government policy and its interpretation is not going to go away.
All sides now have just over a month to finalise their key witnesses and circulate their arguments, their proofs of evidence.
Before the meeting, Mike had been apprehensive.
I spoke to the inspector yesterday briefly and he knew who I was, although he didn’t really know what I’d written in my letter, but at least he knew who I was, so I’m certainly more inclined now to speak at the inquiry.
I’d feel a little bit more confident about it and so it’s given me a boost in confidence to be able to get up there and tell them what for at the inquiry. But we’ll see.
Ten days later, Rachel has a local PR problem to deal with.
RHONE RINGS
Hello, Rachel Ruffle. ‘A critical article has appeared in a local paper by journalist Zoe Kenyon.
Yeah, Chris was almost thinking about a letter to ask for a right of reply or just a letter of complaint, really. This is the article. It’s shockingly extreme. It’s saying that we’re not keen to tell them how dangerous the turbines are to birds, bats, or worse, to children. That’s just ridiculous.
On the Den Brook site, farmer Martin Tucker has seen it, too.
“There’ll be many thousands of tonnes of concrete poured into rich and fertile Devon soil.”
Well, it’s not on rich and fertile Devon soil, it’s on marginal land. She’s really just trying to make us out to be some kind of evil, devil companies. It’s ridiculous. “It’s a view unrivalled by anything I’ve seen.” You want to get a life and travel, missus. I’d like to know where she lived, I really would. I hope they come and knock on her door and give her an open invitation.
Myrtle, here! Myrtle!
I just really can’t imagine it.
When Zoe Kenyon moved with her family from London two years ago, she knew the turbines were a possibility.
This one likes being outside, too.
But that was before they became 120 metres high.
As far as I’m concerned, they’ll become the focus of the landscape. It won’t be Dartmoor and Bow and Spreyton and fields and hills and trees and birds, it’ll be turbines, it’ll just be enormous blades. All I’ve had is people saying, “What a great article.” People have written in saying, “Brilliant, give me a ring, I’ll fill you in on more stuff.”
She’s not happy to hear about Martin Tucker’s invitation to visit his farm.
Oh, he wants me to go down, does he?
He’d love you to.
I’m a bit scared of him. He’s not everybody’s favourite person at the moment. I’m a bit scared about waiting for them to come knocking on my door at night.
They’re running away from us. Well, just stand your ground if they come at us.
I’ll get the camera ready.
He’s seen me doing that.
It’d be good to have a stick or two, wouldn’t it?
It’s just days before the inquiry. RES have given Mike a copy of their noise expert’s evidence. In its highly detailed 42 pages, Dr Andrew Bullmore also responds specifically to Mike’s concerns. He reviews in detail the previous findings and noise modelling that RES have undertaken and concludes that close properties are not likely to suffer from enhanced AM.
That’s really nice, that little bridge.
He also appears to classify the terrain as undulating with moderate tree cover.
Our house is somewhere beyond those trees. You certainly can’t call that undulating. It’s not undulating. There’s no way that’s undulating. Not even insignificantly… I would say this is definitely flat. Yeah. Our field is more or less flat. The only… And that is just a slight slope up to where the turbine would be.
Oh, look out, the bulls are coming.
They’re curious. They’ve sussed us. Will we make it to the gate?
Mike has put these new concerns in a final letter submitted to the planning inspectorate. Rachel is reading her copy of it.
Maybe we haven’t explained properly what roughness classification means.
It’s not really applying to the nature of the undulating land, whether it’s flat or undulating, it’s applying to the ground cover. Whether it’s trees or a smooth surface.
Do you model right down towards his house or do you just model around the site?
The whole area’s included in the noise model. Maybe that’s not made clear enough in our evidence.
You see? They’d make mincemeat out of me if they wanted.
Now it’s starting to become undulating. Exactly. You can see. There’s a big drop beyond that hedgerow. Sure. But the nearest turbine, I think, is just going to be the other side of this hedge here.
Mike’s just not convinced by RES’s evidence.
In his final letter, he says that as RES have withheld access to both their recorded noise and wind data, he’s unable in independently verify the true situation.
Originally, I was told they wouldn’t give us the data because it was commercially confidential.
But recently I’ve been told that the reason they won’t release it is because the opposition, or the objectors, will distort the figures and so they’re not going to release it for that reason alone. Who do you believe? What do you believe? I’m not going to be able to live with the constant whoosh, whoosh, whoomp, whoomp in the background for the rest of my life.
I found out where Zoe Kenyon lived, visited her yesterday afternoon. We had a bit of discussion on the doorstep. I was putting my point of view and most of the things she wouldn’t agree with.
I was holding a screaming baby and the door was that far open to stop these guys running out. I was going, “Stay back, vicious dogs”.
So I was sort of peering round the thing and I just felt myself start to cry so I came in here and said, “I’ll take your number.”
As she was holding her baby, I said to her, “How does it affect children?” And she said, “It was only what I read.” I said, “What have you read?” and she couldn’t quantify that.
He was just angry with me, obviously, and then his main argument was, “I’ve been here for generations, “what right have you got to say that after you’ve only been here for a couple of years?”
At which point I burst into tears. Cos you can’t really say anything to that. What can you say?
I was angry at one stage, I admit. She was determined to have her way and wouldn’t sort of listen to facts.
Maybe if someone approached me and asked if they could put up a windfarm in my garden for thousands of pounds, I might go, “Yeah, OK, sod the neighbours, just stick it up as quickly as you can.”
If you look at the perimeter there…
It’s the eve of the inquiry.
Every time I think about it, I feel wobbly in the knees. I feel a sense of concern that I might not be able to do what I would like to do. If my adrenaline or whatever takes over at the time, there’s not a lot I can do about it. Cos I used to have quite a few up at that top end and they’re not there now, there’s nothing there. I guess this is D Day. Very much so. I think this is going to go on for about seven or eight days. I didn’t realise I was on camera.
What’s it about? It’s about a windfarm in North Tawton. Are we going to get it? We don’t know. There’s an inquiry. We do. Do you? OK. It is right, we should have it!
The inquiry is scheduled for seven days. The Rule Six parties will call witnesses and are represented by lawyers who will cross-examine the other side’s experts. Barrister Saira Kabir Sheikh is a planning specialist and will represent the coalition of opposers, the Den Brook Valley Action Group, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Dartmoor Preservation Association. West Devon Borough Council are represented by barrister Philip Drinkwater.
I’ll now begin by formally opening the inquiry.
This is an appeal by Renewable Energy Systems UK Limited against the decision of the West Devon Borough Council. My purpose in being here as a planning inspector is to apply government policy to this case.
The government states its policy is to cut carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining reliable and competitive energy supplies, two objectives that the coalition are hoping to argue a windfarm just can’t deliver.
As the inquiry starts, RES aren’t yet certain whether they’ll choose to call their noise expert.
I may, I don’t know yet, call Dr Andrew Bullmore, whose proof you already heard. Thank you.
In their opening statement, they seek to remind the inquiry of the severe need for the Den Brook windfarm.
The whole international and more local response to climate change is predicated on the accumulation of many individual steps, each of which is essential to the effectiveness of the whole.
Next on my list, Miss Kabir Sheikh.
The group questioned the accuracy of the figures for the level of energy generation, the development’s impact on tourism…
The coalition of objectors intend to question just how much actual energy will be produced and immediately draw attention to RES’s reluctance to provide data.
The refusal to disclose this evidence is surprising, as the only apparent benefit of the proposal is the physical amount of electricity generated.
But for the coalition, there’s a problem.
The government targets are, of course, expressed in terms of installed capacity. This means RES only have to establish how much energy could come from the turbines if the wind blew all the time, the installed capacity.
The reasons for a refusal are that there would be a severely adverse impact on the local landscape, be detrimental to the residents…
For the rest of the day, the council begins evidence on archaeological and landscape issues.
With that, I’m finished for this evening and we’ll resume tomorrow at ten o’clock.
But as the inquiry breaks up, Mike Hulme has a surprise. RES’s advocate, Marcus Trinick, has approached Mike and given him the phone number for RES’s noise expert, Dr Andrew Bullmore.
Have you got any idea why Andrew Bullmore wants to speak to me?
To… He’s supposed to be sending you a response to your letters that you wrote to the inspector. I think there’s certain misunderstandings that you’ve got about… I’m sure there are. So he was just going to talk to you about them because we knew you’d probably have further questions. And you’ve got his mobile number.
I’ll phone him.
I think it’s the best thing to do.
Right. OK.
When Mike goes home that night, he doesn’t phone Dr Bullmore.
Good morning, everybody. It’s ten o’clock and this inquiry is now resumed.
It’s an inquiry into a planning appeal by Renewable Energy Systems…
On the second day, an anxious Rachel once again has to ask Mike if he’s made contact yet.
I just didn’t phone him last night because I didn’t feel I’d understood what he’d said.
Yeah.
I needed to… I’m not an expert in this stuff, as you well know.
HE LAUGHS
I’m in a weird position now, I really am.
I came home and there’s an email from Andrew Bullmore and a message on the phone.
With the email was Andrew Bullmore’s six-page rebuttal argument.
Part of it explains how, in his view, Mike has confused much of the science.
This is definitely flat.
And that if Mike had been an independent experienced acoustic professional, RES would have made the data available to him as, indeed, they had to himself.
You can’t call that undulating.
I mean, he’s reasonably polite, but he’s telling me I’m confused. The fact that he’d rebutted my letter has now enlightened me as to where I effectively asked the wrong question. But I now think I know what the right question is.
I briefly spoke to the coalition and they are trying to persuade me that, if he comes to the inquiry, his evidence carries more weight, because he will be questioned, than if he doesn’t come to the inquiry. And they see that as being an advantage to them. But then, thinking it through, it seemed to me, well, if that works that way, it equally well works for RES. So if RES bring Bullmore in for questioning, it adds a little bit of extra weight to his evidence, so why don’t RES want to bring him in? The way I see it is, they’re trying to suss out if I have got anything else of any possible strength to present to the inquiry.
This inquiry is resumed. It’s the next day.
The inspector’s keen to see where RES and Mike are at.
I did actually try phoning Mr Bullmore last night and he was out.
Yes.
So I feel perhaps, if it’s acceptable, I would like to maybe put a brief written response to Mr Bullmore’s rebuttal hopefully before the end of the weekend.
May I suggest you try him during the day. That’s when you’re going to get hold of him.
I agree, but I wish to be here during the day.
You’ve got a choice. Thank you, Mr Hulme. As soon as possible, please.
On the third day, the coalition move on to examine RES’s claims for Den Brook’s energy output.
Mr Constable, can I introduce you, please? You are John Constable.
John Constable is from the Renewable Energy Foundation, who argue the government is over-reliant on on-shore wind. He says RES’s claims for the capacity factor are overstated and cannot be verified as they are withholding site-specific wind data.
RES say they wouldn’t be building it if it was uneconomic and they have released data to an independent expert for verification.
I have read that, yes. It doesn’t provide data. It asserts the capacity factor rather than providing data.
But, of course, it’s academic. The inspector is not required to provide a capacity factor, how much electricity the Den Brook turbines will really generate just the installed capacity.
It would be possible in theory, would it not, to be able to meet that capacity as an installed capacity with turbines which didn’t actually generate any electricity at all.
That would be the reduction ad absurdum argument.
Yes.
Yes, it is conceivable, you could meet the target. Obviously, the point is to generate energy.
Yes.
The Den Brook Valley Action Group are next to put their case.
I think the problem with a lot of politicians is that they actually mean well.
Leading for them is John Welsby, CBE, a former chief executive of British Rail and at one time a member of the government’s Economic Service. He knows the captains of industry.
Look at the aeroplane.
Yes.
That’s about the height that those turbines will be.
I happened to ask a nameless person who’s fairly big in all this lot, what did he think about these windfarms? His reaction was, “Well, we all know the future is nuclear. But there’s some real good money to be made on these windfarms.” And that’s what’s actually happening.
John believes policies should deliver results and that the Den Brook proposal won’t deliver the government’s objectives of secure and competitive energy supplies.
And because of that, it’s not worth impacting on the landscape.
To put it there is just sacrilege, I think.
DBVAC contend that the impact on landscape character is clearly adverse and to a very major degree.
After 3,000 years… I’m sorry. It gets to me that badly, this. There’s 3,000 years of continuous human settlement in that valley. And after which, it’s as beautiful as it is today. The current proposal, involving as it does the construction of huge industrial structures, will destroy that character entirely. I always get emotional about it. Landscape is very dear. They ain’t creating any more of it, And what we’ve got is all we’re ever going to have. Certain things get me, you know? Cruelty to animals, desecration of landscapes, all of which are things that need not happen. And it did get me just momentarily.
But our analysis shows that not only will the performance of the turbines be poor… What on earth are we sacrificing this beautiful environment for? You won’t tell us! And if you spend all of your 151 megawatts in building power stations that are not going to deliver any electricity, you’re in, as the Americans would say, pretty deep doo-doo.
The inquiry adjourns for the weekend.
Mike Hulme goes to write his submission and he finally speaks, several times, to RES’s noise expert Dr Bullmore.
What irritates me a little bit about all this is that I’ve been batting on to Rachel about this for over a year and suddenly, at the last minute, someone’s actually talking to me about it.
And I’m grateful to you for talking to me about it but it’s pushing me very hard.
Whoa. He is totally satisfied that that noise assessment is good.
In fact, he’s more that way today than he was last night.
Because I was much more challenging today than I was last night.
I’ve got a long night ahead of me.
Mike now knows the three questions he wants to ask RES.
Would they give residents more protection through increased monitoring and stronger penalties if noise levels were breached?
Could he have access to their wind data?
And would they undertake further background noise recordings to properly reflect seasonal changes?
Day four and Mike Hulme hasn’t completed his final submission yet as he’s waiting for RES’s answers to his questions.
I was expecting to be contacted yesterday by Dr Bullmore.
Yes.
And he said he was going to speak with RES. And he hasn’t got back to me.
Yes.
Please do continue making the efforts if you can and Mr Trinick, if you could ask Dr Bullmore…
I will ask.
Yes. Thank you. So we’ve put down the marker…
Later in the morning, Rachel speaks with Mike in the lobby outside and gives him answers to his questions. He claims Rachel replied no to all three.
Inspector Lavender is also going to have to make a ruling on a matter that could potentially result in a costly adjournment of the inquiry.
What they’ve actually done is enumerated properties that are within three kilometres of the centre of the site.
The coalition’s landscape witness, Fiona Fife, has been able to put her evidence in late and has criticised RES’s approach. She claims 1,000 properties that could be affected have not been assessed. So over the weekend, Rebecca Rylet for RES has done extra field work and examined a number of the additional properties.
It strictly a rebuttal. It’s not a supplementary.
If her work is classified as supplementary evidence rather than evidence re-evaluation, there will need to be an adjournment while a process of consultation and publicity allows all those affected to respond.
What it looks like is that, having received Fiona Fife’s evidence, recognised that there are errors which would lead to a greater impact on a larger number of properties, they’ve now gone behind the ES at this late stage and sought to downgrade, through some justification or other, the findings of that ES. That’s simply unfair and wrong. I object to this even going in, frankly.
Inspector Lavender delivers his verdict. He’s taken into account that he’s going to be hearing from many affected residents very shortly.
It’s my conclusion that I will treat the submission as evidence, not further environmental information, evidence that it is useful to have placed before me. And as such, it would not be my intention to adjourn the inquiry while statutory consultation processes were invoked.
The inspector’s decision may mean that some homeowners that could be affected may not be at the inquiry to give their views.
Nevertheless, Rebecca Rylet for RES is now free to start her detailed evidence.
The windfarm proposal is of an appropriate scale and number of turbines for this location and will offer the opportunity of an exciting sculptural and architectural landmark to this landscape where there is none existing, whilst providing a striking counterpoint…
But Mike and Bash have to go home.
If I don’t have it there by tomorrow lunchtime, I’m going to get my backside smacked. Yeah, I’ve got a long night ahead of me, I fear.
Beechtree. I considered that this property was under-assessed and would have a view of the windfarm with limited screening.
Elmridge. This property was missed out of the previous assessment, one explanation being the minibuses parked in front of the property.
Hi! Mike didn’t make it, then? No, he’s busy.
Oh, he’s busy. You all right? Yeah. Lovely for you to come over, anyway. Thank you.
At least you can update me on everything.
She’s obviously put the cat among the pigeons in RES’s camp, which is good. Yes.
You couldn’t really get much higher than Trinick, I don’t think, secretary to the BWEA. He set it all up, really. Him and a few other people. Recommended to the government how to go about all the recommendations and stuff. So he’s been doing it for ten-plus years. Yeah. He’s part of the policy-making team, I would think. Yeah. I think what they’re wanting to do is to pump Mike to see if he’s got anything. Mike does everything to his limit. Am I worried about him? Oh, yes. He stresses himself out and he’s been known to pass out. Really? When he gets stressed, yes. Oh, dear. We’ll be glad at the end of the week. Yeah. It’s not finishing on Friday, though, is it? There’s still Monday and Tuesday. Is there? I don’t know.
How long did it take? Well, I was up till about half past three this morning and I’ve just been doing it for three hours. It’s pathetic. It’s only three pages.
As Mike arrives back, the inquiry is turning again to the vexed issue of interpretation of government guidance. Appearing for RES is their planning expert David Stewart.
The question is whether, as the deadline draws closer without meeting renewable energy targets, shouldn’t less weight be given to environmental concerns? I think the simplest answer is to say, if you have a look at the Knabs Ridge decision…
If you have a look at what?
The Knabs Ridge decision.
Is that a planning appeal decision?
It is in my proof. It is one of the core documents.
That’s not government guidance. Hang on a minute.
I’ll answer questions the way I like. If you don’t like the answer… Mr Stewart, I must insist… I… Mr Stewart, the question is quite specific.
If you later want to go into that document, you may, but I’m asking the question, where is government guidance, does it have that requirement?
The requirement in government guidance is to deliver the targets.
Paragraph two of the energy white paper indicates the government will be looking to work with regions to deliver the government’s objectives.
Yes, all right.
No planning authority, no interest group, can say that doesn’t matter. The whole essence of this is to make it clear there has to be a step change in the delivery of schemes.
Mr Stewart…
I can’t read it any other way than that.
Tonight, local residents will have the opportunity to address the inquiry.
The majority present are against the turbines.
There may be a case for windfarms, there may be a place for windfarms. That place is not Den Brook.
We knew that we had found… Sorry. There’s some water on the table. It’s not that, it’s just this means a lot to me. I can understand. We knew that we had found a place that our guests would be able to relax in. Indeed, I rarely see my visitors’ faces on arrival. They ring the doorbell and then turn around and face the beauty of the landscape.
Thank you.
Mr Emmanuel, my understanding is that you’re a supporter of the windfarm.
When you’re ready, thank you.
I practise as a chartered architect. I’m not qualified to comment on the technical aspects of the proposal but I can speak about its visual impact. As a piece of engineering, I think many people would find them to be objects of beauty. They have an inspiring directness of purpose on a par with other great icons of civil or mechanical engineering. In this extensive landscape, in my opinion, there could not be a more appropriate place to site it. This is a small but significant, vital and urgent contribution to the national requirement for sustainable energy. Without it, those cherished views which we are talking about could terribly soon dry up or be covered with ice as a result of climate change. I would ask, if not here at Den Brook, where? If not now, when? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr Emmanuel.
I will keep this part very brief, as there isn’t enough paper in the world…
…to say what I want to say.
Would you like to stop for a moment?
Or call someone else forward if you want to gather yourself?
The first ten years living here were a delight. We have a summer house is our garden and we often partake of meals there. And yes, you have guessed it, it also faces the valley. This is an industrial site that doesn’t belong in our valley.
Thank you.
Mike Hulme’s moment has come.
You’ve produced a short proof. Can you begin by reading it?
I object to the proposed development on the following grounds. The background noise measurements were carried out without due consideration and are unrepresentative for the area. Data from the noise measurements has not been made available for third parties to test the claims.
Rather than sway with emotion, Mike Hulme just wants to get his detailed concerns on record.
This begs the question as to whether information has been purposefully withheld. But not being allowed access to the data, I have been unable to seek the opinion of an expert of my choice. Surely this is not an unreasonable request.
Inspector Lavender hasn’t had access to the noise data, either, and he doesn’t ask RES for it.
I don’t think, in all honesty, I can give anybody any cast-iron guarantee that they will not be affected by noise to the extent that a condition is not necessary.
A condition would be necessary…
He urges Mike to attend the forthcoming conditions session.
But Mike still hasn’t finished all he wants to say.
Along with many others, I have already suffered significant impact from this scheme. If you, sir, are to rely on data only available to the appellant, it appears to me contrary to the principles of natural justice for a decision to be made on the basis of assertions made by one party that cannot be tested by the other.
Did you wish to ask any questions?
Maybe just a couple for clarification.
This is the moment Mike has been dreading.
Marcus Trinick takes him through the noise data that has been published.
The mean curve or the derived curve?
Rather than alleviate Mike’s concerns, it seems to accentuate the gulf between them.
If you look at the bottom of the night-time plot, you’ve got basically a straight line.
It’s straight compared with the daytime one.
Sure. I’m anxious to avoid getting into evidence…
Mike doesn’t know it now, but everything he has just said will severely hinder RES’s advancement with the Den Brook proposal.
Is there anybody else who wishes to address the inquiry? We’ve reached the time of 20 to 11. So thank you very much, everybody. We’re not finished. Good evening.
After an emotionally-charged evening, Marcus Trinick offers round sweets. Tomorrow is the final day of the inquiry. The last session before the site meeting is to discuss the planning conditions that would be imposed were the windfarm to be built. It’s what Mike Hulme sees as his last chance to have a say on protecting his future peace and quiet.
The intention is that the guidance in terms of decibel levels…
The regulations allow noise up to set levels above the disputed background noise measurements RES had taken 12 months previously at his property.
There’s higher levels here.
What, of ambient?
Yep. Background noise. So it’s not the quietest place in the world.
Yes, Mr Hulme? As you well know, sir, I believe background noise measurements were not as good as they may have been and as it seems to depend on those, I can’t see how this is a satisfactory solution.
So you would suggest, presumably, there would be some mechanism to revisit the background noise levels? Mr Trinick, any comments on that?
There’s absolutely no persuasive evidence before this inquiry that the measurements are anything other than professionally made, robust and reliable and representative of all relevant conditions. That would be very strongly resisted by us.
Mr Hulme, you’ve heard the robust response from the appellant.
I don’t think we’re going to gain anything by debating it further.
I have your position, I have Mr Trinick’s position, I’ll need to make a judgement on it. I’ll accept that.
As appellants, RES have the final summing up at the inquiry.
A small price to pay for assisting in combating the worst effects of climate change and if you feel that I am gilding the point, please look no further than the July 2006 government publication The Energy Challenge. Annex D includes this text.
“New renewables projects may not always appear to convey any particular local benefit, but they provide crucial national benefits. These wider benefits are not always immediately visible to the specific locality in which the project is sited. However, benefits to the society and the wider economy as a whole are significant and this must be reflected in the weight given to these considerations by decision-makers in reaching decisions.”
And I ask you to grant planning permission for this development. Thank you.
Only tomorrow’s site visit remains before a decision.
I don’t know whether I’m allowed to say anything. If I’m not, I won’t.
Only if you want to point something out to me to look at, not to express any opinions.
The site visit begins on Martin Tucker’s farm.
The objectors are flying a balloon at blade-tip height. But visibility is poor.
The balloon is at the right height. It’s also flying at an angle so one can’t be precisely sure.
That property there is Redlands. Yep. Right on the hill.
So effectively I can’t see Nichols Nymet House or Hotel from here.
It’s behind that group of trees.
They’re due at Muriel’s hotel about 11.
It’s my business, my livelihood, my children’s home.
It could all hang on the next half hour.
There are several sites to be visited before Muriel’s.
If you want to join me, please do. Otherwise I’ll pop over there and back by myself.
OK, I think I’ve seen what I need to from here.
So, the balloon position is approximately here.
You can see the traffic moving on the A road over there that goes past the site.
OK.
They were probably late so they thought, “We can leave her out, she’s only a business that’s going to go bust.”
So I can see the anemometer mast over there. So there’d be a spread of turbines across on that side.
That’s right.
Can you remind me of the lady’s name here?
Here they come.
Muriel hopes the driver won’t park the minibus where it’ll obscure the view.
Go on, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.
Hi, Mrs Goodman. Welcome to Nichols Nymet House.
Thank you.
Hi, Rebecca. Hello. Are you coming in, John?
I’d like to see a representative view from a bedroom and if you have a main sitting area where your guests sit, I’d like to see that, as well. I’ll take you upstairs.
I can see the balloon over there. The first turbine will be… On the map, it’s directly in front of us.
That tree… There’s that tree on the horizon.
It would mean that the turbine is in view to the right of that tree.
And then the rest of the turbines are spread around the horizon in that direction.
If I can just stand a little bit back and take a general view.
Most of my guests pick that chair first.
Right, well, let’s sit in the chair.
THEY LAUGH
Thank you very much indeed for that.
OK, thank you.
We’re going up to…
Most of the turbines will lie off to the right, between the hotel and its view of the moor.
OK, I think I’ve seen and heard what I need to. Thank you very much.
Very kind of you to let us see.
Well, he didn’t want to look at me directly is all I can say.
Who?
The inspector.
Didn’t he? No. As we said goodbye, he didn’t want to look at me directly.
Oh, he was very pleasant. But he didn’t… It was that sort of look and go away. It’s… It’s guilt.
SHE LAUGHS
It’s guilt.
And all Rebecca Rylet could do was say, “That’s Bow over there and that’s the lake” taking his eyes completely off up this way.
He’s not stupid. He’s not stupid at all.
No, he’s very astute, I think. You’d have to be in that job.
Something to hold onto!
Try and open your viewpoint nine. I’ll take a bit of shelter.
So that’s the cheese factory there. Yes.
OK, I think I’ve seen as best we can.
Thank you very much. Very helpful.
The site visit closes the inquiry.
Inspector Lavender will be announcing his verdict in the new year.
I couldn’t have believed it was so much windier up there than it was down in the valley today.
There’s plenty of worse jobs to do. You do get to see places in the countryside.
It’s decision day.
Muriel’s not at home, but her husband Paul is, waiting for word.
I don’t really want to live here if those turbines are built because the reasons we bought the house are for its position and its view and its proximity to Dartmoor.
Inspector Lavender’s decision will first be communicated by email.
Right. Shall we check?
Rachel Ruffle’s ready and waiting, too, in her office nearby.
At RES’s HQ beside London’s M25 motorway, no-one’s predicting the result.
This is not the first of their windfarm applications to go to public inquiry.
I’ve just got the decision notice here.
I can’t read it. My God. I’m not sure what it means, cos I’m too sort of… I don’t want to go off the deep end. I’ve had… I’ve been having… I’m not looking because I just want to explain it. Because I keep having this dream where I see it but I can’t actually make out what it’s saying. You know, I don’t know which bit to look at first.
Shall I read it to you, what it says, and you can tell me what it means?
“Summary of decision: The appeal” … “is allowed and planning permission granted subject to the conditions set out below.” So that’s it.
Oh, dear.
Well, I… did expect that.
Permission granted subject to the conditions set out. Yes! Fantastic. I can’t believe it! Oh, thank you, Marcus.
Yeah. Right, I suppose I’d better phone Muriel.
I can’t believe it. I don’t know who to phone first!
Hello. “Hi.” The appeal is allowed.
I thought it would be. “…subject to conditions set out below.”
Hiya. Yeah, hi!
Congratulations! Well done! Yeah, good!
I can’t believe it! We’ve got it! Fantastic, isn’t it?
Well done. Fantastic achievement.
He thinks only one turbine will be visible from room one.
What? “And if you take two steps back from the window, you won’t see any.”
Very well constructed conclusions, just from a very quick skim. Yeah.
Indeed, within Devon, he has little doubt that this location would, “because of rather than in spite of its inherent topographical characteristics, rank highly amongst the landscapes most able to accommodate development of this type, scale and extent proposed.” Well, I disagree with him totally.
There you are, he’s made his decision, he’s ruined our lives and the lives of other people and I’d like to know where he lives and whether he’s got turbines near him.
Well…
SHE LAUGHS
He’d soon move. I said he’d soon move, I suspect, if he had that threat.
There’s just not enough room to do a cartwheel.
I need to go outside and run. Do you know what I mean?
I do, I just need to…
Perhaps we should put the house on the market.
There’s no chance, is there, now?
I’m disappointed, but I kind of expected the worst.
What’s going to happen to us now?
There’s been this thing in the back of our minds all the way along, this is the end of our pension. Cos our pension is in our property and is our property going to be saleable? We have to go to the next stage now, I suppose, and work out… We’ve got to keep on the game as far as the noise is concerned because I believe there is going to be a noise issue. The developers have not been fully open with their assessment as far as I’m concerned, they’ve withheld information. Morally, we have a right to have that information, I believe. And for them to not let me have the information on the basis that I won’t understand it … it’s insulting.
I’d never imagine… This is just surreal, the situation.
What am I doing stood here in a suit outside the main court of the country?
My rightful place is in a field down in Devon.
The judge said he couldn’t believe our attitude in our approach to Mike.
Are you going to let me have the data?
Cos I really would like to see what is going on.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media subtitling@bbc.co.uk
Aesthetics, England, Human rights, Impacts, Noise, Property values, Siting •
Windfarm Wars – episode 1
Source: BBC2
Transcript of Windfarm Wars, episode 1 (of 4), BBC2:
Isn’t that wonderful? A fantastic play of light and shade, isn’t there?
Devon, for many, a place to find peace and solitude.
For others, like the Tucker family, it’s been a working landscape for generations. The Tuckers’ farm lies about 4.5 miles from the northern edge of the protected landscape of Dartmoor National Park. Seven years ago, in 2004, a renewable energy company approached Martin Tucker about building part of a wind farm on his land.
Business opportunities coming along to diversify, you know, we’re going to grab it with both hands.
And then you go over the hill…
The Project Manager is Rachel Ruffle of developers Renewable Energy Systems, or RES.
The Den Brook Wind Farm with its ten 100-metre-high turbines will be built in a shallow valley that’s part of Martin’s farm.
The genuine, local people that would know us, are for it. But the trouble is that the ones who are for it won’t say nothing about it. The ones who are against it always got a lot to say.
This is the story of what happens when the attempt to build a wind farm turns into an epic seven-year battle.
Bloody Nora! Can you believe it?
They’re a lot of nimbies in my opinion.
So, who’d like one of these in their garden?
They trespassed as well, they trespassed at The Piles as well.
They’ve had a right old go at this, obviously done with wire cutters.
It’s a story of one woman’s dream…
I don’t want people against it. I want everyone to love wind farms and there not to be protesters.
…and what happens when that dream falls apart.
I’ve got to get my act together. I’ve got to go and pick up the kids in a minute.
It’s the biggest dilemma of the modern world. We’ve serious global warming issues going on. And if we don’t do something about it, we are going to leave a dreadful legacy for the next generation.
They’re nicking our tranquillity. Their stealing it, it’s highway robbery.
It leads to two public enquiries and a damaging and costly confrontation at the High Court.
I’m sorry, this, it gets me badly, this.
There’s 3,000 years of continuous human settlement in that valley and, after which, it is as beautiful as it is today.
This is how our battle for the future of the planet is played out in one Devon valley.
We’re having lamb chops from Barry the butcher’s… locally-produced lamb.
Rachel Ruffle’s home is just a few miles away from where she is planning to build the wind farm.
She lives with her partner, Steve, and their two young children.
What we want to do is try and get the facts across, and just, you know… this is a good proposal, what it’s about, these are the turbines, where they are going to go, this is the effect it’s going to have or the lack of effect, this is how much energy it’ll produce, this is how turbines work, this is how noisy they’ll be, all those things.
You know, people want a greener Britain. They’re not going to do it by stopping renewable energy projects.
Quiet, quiet, quiet, Billy! Billy! Quiet!
Go on.
Martin Tucker’s grandfather bought the farm near Den Brook in the 1920s. Martin now farms it with his son. But it’s not always been easy. Several years ago, the neighbouring farm contracted foot and mouth disease. All Martin’s livestock had to be culled. So they built a pyre and burnt them which was not good.
The silence was the worst of it, the complete silence. I could never… believe I wouldn’t want to go and see stock or want to farm. Having been here all me life, I never thought you could feel that. But it did, it did.
Eventually Martin restocked, but when Rachel approached him about the wind farm, it was his chance for a new future. Her company, RES, got permission to put up the anemometer mast to collect wind speed data and check if the site is windy enough.
Rachel’s task now is to get planning permission for the whole wind farm. RES claim it will provide enough electricity for up to 13,000 homes. But Martin and Rachel are going to face some tough opposition.
The developers led us to believe the application isn’t in.
In a field close by Tucker’s farm, protesters called the Den Brook Valley Action Group are about to publicise their campaign. They want to draw attention to how high the turbines will be by launching a balloon as close as possible to Tucker’s farm.
In my little briefcase, off to work we go.
But one of the group has reservations.
You’re very sweet, have you got some glasses?
So far, he’s had good relations with Rachel and thinks he could have arranged for the launch to be from the farm itself.
I want to speak to the developers, I don’t want to break that communication line.
Let’s just see how well those hold in there for the minute.
And if they’d approached me earlier, I think we might have been able to put it up on an actual position of a turbine.
Mike Hulme has always been in two minds about the wind farm. His property is one of the ones which will lie close to the turbines. Looking from here, they will come round there, sweeping through an arc of about 120 degrees. He’s most concerned about noise that he fears could come from the turbines.
Mike and his wife, Bash, came to Devon for the peace and quiet. She grows the produce and he runs a specialist car maintenance business. Everything they have is tied up in their property. They came to seek a different sort of life, before Green became fashionable. It was January 1975 and we’d been looking for somewhere like this.
We’d been looking for two years, hadn’t we? Two years. I suppose.
We were looking to develop something we could use as a sort of demonstration that you didn’t have to live a sort of high consumer, high speed lifestyle.
We were going to have our own methane digester.
Yeah, we were even going to have a wind turbine.
Mike and Bash, in theory, then, are sympathetic to the wind farm even though the nearest turbine will be just over a kilometre away.
Good morning.
But the action group are intent on direct protest.
And it appears to me at this point it’s becoming a mudslinging match.
Oh, we’ve got life.
Go!
Yeah, lovely.
Get it near the end.
Can you believe it?
It does upset me that there are a lot of, mainly, outsiders that are heavily against it. They want the electric, but they don’t want it in their back garden.
331 feet. So who’d like one of these in their garden?
Only three turbines currently exist in Devon. They’ve been built by another developer. They’re at Bradworthy, about 30 miles from Martin’s farm.
Ah. Brilliant. I think they’re marvellous things.
To meet Government targets, Devon has to plan for 151 megawatts of renewable energy by 2010. So far, all they have coming from on shore wind is three megawatts.
You seem genuinely thrilled by them.
Yeah I am, genuinely.
Martin’s keen on renewable energy and he knows he is going to do well out of it, too.
You’ve got to strain your ear to hear them.
RES say they’ll put £27,000 yearly into a community fund.
Martin can’t reveal how much he’ll make, but in its 25-year lifespan, the wind farm will almost certainly make Martin a millionaire.
Ah, right. So that’s Bradworthy. That’s Bradworthy over there.
Gosh, there’s a house so close.
Mike and Bash are going to listen to the turbines.
There’s no question, is there? Anyone who says they can’t hear that has got to be hard of hearing.
The camera microphone may be enhancing the turbine noise, but Mike’s worried and he’s hearing it direct, so they move further back to listen.
That’s quite annoying, adum, adum, adum. That really is an intrusion, in terms of we’ve got that for the rest of our lives. I’ll have to have words with Rachel. It’s much louder than I thought it would be.
How do you get round? Is it this way?
OK? This is where you sit.
Certainly full on view for her, isn’t it?
Before leaving, Mike and Bash decide to call unannounced at the house next to the turbines.
BARKING
It’s all right, it’s their feed time.
Hello. Oh, look!
That’s mum.
Oh! Hi!
We’ve been up round and right next to them. Yes, yes.
And they are quite noisy.
On the whole they seem to sound like a plane going overhead. Yeah. But when at night they get louder, and that’s like, almost like a helicopter.
Outside at night would you hear them? You’d hear them. You would?
Quite distinctly. Whoomph, whoomph, whoomph.
You shouldn’t really be feeding them.
Are you finding it a bit overwhelming, a bit disturbing?
I hate it, so I’m not going to be happy about it. Sure. I won’t say it particularly disturbs me because I don’t spend a lot of time at this time of the year outside. At the moment I go outside, I’ve got to be outside…
We are really trying to find something that is going to reassure us that it’s going to be OK. That we’re going to be OK, really.
We’ll be OK, you know. No, no. But we’ve got to put up with a bit of noise.
It’s not just that, is it? Put up with the constant beat.
It’s devaluing the property.
Well, that’s the big, big, big effect.
You know, something we’ve worked for for so long. What was that?
There it is!
You know without a doubt they are taking something away from us. And not really with our permission. They’re nicking our tranquillity. They’re stealing it, you know. It’s highway robbery, really. Bottom line.
To talk about their worries, Mike and Bash have invited Rachel over to see them.
Are you filming already, Olly?
I’m always filming.
Oh!
Well, here we go, wind farm developer, bribing local with raspberries!
Look!
God! They’ve just put it up for us specially.
I don’t believe that!
When we’re faced with what we are being faced with here. Does any of this make sense?
Does it make sense for you to build ten turbines over there and them to be increasing an extra airport by two million people?
Where is the logic in that, for God’s sake? No, it doesn’t make any sense. You know, it just amazes me, you know. That’s why we hide away down the bottom of this lane. I would plead with you to go and listen at Bradworthy because I really… Either I’m going off my tree, or I’m… I’m really not trying to exaggerate it, you know, that’s how it is. So if it’s up to that point…
Noise isn’t Rachel’s only problem.
One of the four landowners involved has pulled out.
Hello.
Good news for Martin Tucker.
He’ll now get an extra turbine on his land. And more money.
Well, five is better than four in anybody’s maths. So yes, it’s got to be an advantage, exactly.
Mike should be pleased that the turbines are not going to be so close.
But he’s been back to Bradworthy with Rachel and he is still not convinced.
I got the impression Rachel was a bit surprised when she heard the noise at Bradworthy.
But she seems confident that they can design the wind farm here such that we won’t get the noise.
It seems to me that if there is going to be noise, there’s going to be noise.
RES, good afternoon.
Rachel’s got a meeting at company headquarters just outside London. It’s from here that RES design and build wind farms all over the world. She has to get sign off on the re-jigged plans for the Devon site.
Yes. As you know, we’ve been through quite a lot of different designs, ranging from 19 smaller ones but then we quite early on decided to go for the bigger turbines. The number of turbines has been reduced. Partly because we had a landowner who decided not to go-ahead. But actually nine 80-metre towers gives just as much if not more energy than ten 60-metres.
The towers, though, have been raised by 20 metres. To blade tip, each will now be 120 metres high, more than twice the height of Nelson’s Column.
It does have a level of support, although there’s quite a vociferous anti minority, I would guess. And you’re doing quite a lot of work on community relations. Right project, right place, let’s submit it for planning and hopefully we will get consent in a few months’ time. OK. That’s about it, really.
But it’s too early to celebrate.
Over the next few weeks, Rachel’s life is likely to become increasingly uncomfortable.
In Den Brook, the news that the turbines would be 20 metres taller kicks off a new war of words.
John Shields is the Action Group’s Mr Fixit. He lives very close to the site and he’s Martin Tucker’s cousin.
I had a discussion in the pub with him about it.
A bit awkward, no.
He was adamant I would do it if I was offered the money. I said I don’t want to look at those things and I can’t believe you do.
I still haven’t had anybody come up and say it’s a bad idea.
Hi, Christine. How are you?
It’s fairly open here, I’ll do you four on the hedge.
They come in pairs. You’ve got the “Save The Valley” and the “Say No”.
If people don’t wake up to the idea it’s going to be too late.
They’re a lot of nimbies in my opinion. When the Bradworthy wind turbines were on I bet none of these were down there, they couldn’t care at all. It’s only because it’s in their back yard. Everybody’s got to do their bit. I don’t mind. People have moved into the area and they seem to be against anything and everything that we’ve been doing over the last centuries, which is spoiling our towns.
I’m going to have to emigrate now, aren’t I?
Do I care?!
No way is it a valley. You know, where they’re suggesting there is a place called Den Brook Valley. No way. That worries me more than people putting up signs because that’s led me the opportunity now for me to put up a sign, which we’ve had a lot of good feedback from. There’s a lot of people who will stop here and have a good look at it. There goes somebody driving by now. Job done.
Next day, down at Mike Hulme’s, a package has arrived.
Did you know Rachel was going to send it?
It was obvious what is was when it arrived because it was in a big RES envelope.
Rachel’s sent new photo montages of how the nine turbines will look from Mike’s house.
At least we’ve only got four that are conflicting with each other. It could have been worse. But I’ve got no say in it, I suppose. At the end of the day, what do we matter in the scheme of things? It’s not a question of doing the best thing for the environment. The best thing for the environment is people to stop using vast amounts of energy. We’ve already lost quite considerably. We’ve lost the sale of our house, which was a major part of our plans for the next few years.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS
Ha, ha, saved by the bell! Guess who this is?
Cor, thank you, Rachel. Was it all right?
Before putting in the planning application, Rachel needs to tie up the contracts with the landowners.
So I’ll speak to you, after two o’clock or something.
Cheers, Rachel.
It’s pretty, pretty imminent, really. Well, very imminent, very imminent. It looks like we could be doing it tomorrow. Lovely. How exciting.
Eventually, Rachel’s close to finalising the contracts.
Everything’s done, everything’s ready.
All the environmental statements, all the drawings are ready. I’ve got a copy in my bag here to show Mike.
Hello! Mike! Hi.
Hello, Rachel.
How are you?
So any day now, we’re going to be putting in a planning application.
Really, have you got your legal stuff sorted?
I’m hoping to get a call on my phone, which is in the car.
This is what we’ll be submitting. That’s the environmental statement.
So that’s all the text visuals, visual assessment, landscape assessment, hydrology, ecology, archaeology, shadow flicker, noise, everything.
I’ve got to pick my children up at some point and I’ve got to take this with me.
Oh, really? Right. I’d better have a look at it then.
You probably wouldn’t say it now, but I remember in the early days you saying well maybe you ought to be feeling good because there’s going to be a wind farm there and you’re doing your bit for the environment.
You know, that doesn’t really go down too well!
When you’ve had 30 years of peace and quiet and suddenly you realise that that’s going to be changed.
To some respect… extent.
Rachel has some news for Mike about his peace and quiet.
Some months before, he’d given RES permission to place a microphone at his property to record background noise levels.
The higher the background noise, the noisier the turbines are allowed to be.
They’re in for a shock.
You’d be surprised, Mike, that the noise here is noisier than at Broad Nymet.
Is noisier than at Broad Nymet.
We measured higher levels here than at Broad Nymet.
What, of ambient?
Yep, background noise. So it’s not the quietest place in the world.
You’ve used the higher noise levels for us.
The ones that were measured here.
But those… So am I going to be able to see the ones that you measured here?
If we were to use the ones from Broad Nymet here.
Mike and Bash are certainly worried about noise now.
Sorry it’s such a short visit.
Hoping to go to planning very soon. I’ll let you know.
Hopefully when I get back in the car there might be a message, saying “OK”.
I really just hate having to leave when there’s still so much to say. And it feels really rude as well. I think he makes a good point. He doesn’t feel that he is totally against it. And he doesn’t feel like he is totally for it either. I want to make it work. And I don’t want people to be against it. I want everyone to love wind farms and if I can find a way of making them love wind farms then, and welcome them and then not to be protesters, then that would be great.
The next day is the moment Rachel’s been waiting for. It’s West Devon Borough Council offices in Okehampton. The contracts with the landowners have at last been agreed.
I’ve got a big box of planning applications here. Thank you.
So it just has to be signed there and dated, if you could… Yep.
RES have already spent £300,000 in development costs, and there’s a charge for the planning application, too.
OK. And a cheque for 50,000, please. 50,000.
I know. I was quite tempted to go shopping earlier.
Our accounts department said, “Make sure you get a receipt”. Yes, I’ll just go and get the receipt.
It will now take six weeks before the final planning meeting.
Six weeks in which the war between developers and protesters is bound to escalate.
Right, there you go. Thank you very much.
The next morning, Rachel’s delivering copies of the environmental statement to post offices so that the public can have access to it. She then drives past the wind farm site.
What do you think of the signs?
It’s a fair enough form of protest. I’m quite surprised they didn’t do it sooner. Now there’s a nice sign.
Did you help Martin with his sign? That’s a RES thing?
Yes.
Did RES pay for it?
Yeah, we gave him the sign.
But he wanted a sign and said, “Can you make me one, Rachel?”
Yes. I didn’t make it personally.
I didn’t sew it with my bare hands.
The signs soon become the source of trouble.
A week later, new chair of DBVAG, Maureen Thompson, has a front page story for the local paper.
Overnight, we have had all of our signs vandalised. They trespassed as well, they trespassed at the Piles as well. And they’ve trespassed in other places. It was sheep marker spray. That’s what we thought it was.
And now Martin Tucker has something to report, too.
There’s no need to go vandalising on people’s property. There’s just no need for it. Now the plans have gone in, they can see what we intend to do. It’ll be all up to the planners at the end of the day and they’ll make their decision.
I’m Lynette Hamilton, Chairman of our parish council.
The next evening, Bow Parish Council have called a meeting to give local people a chance to see the plans and make comments.
The application is to erect nine wind turbines…
RES have already held an exhibition and Rachel attended public meetings. She’s even canvassed door to door.
Well, we sent out these leaflets last week. Did you get one?
I did indeed. Way to go. I’m well keen on the idea. Oh, good.
Hello. Yeah. Quite happy about it. Perfectly happy. Yeah.
They are a bit of a blot on the landscape now, aren’t they?
And another thing, somebody is making some money out of it. And it ain’t us, kid. No.
I’ve actually got no objection to it.
We can’t keep using up all the resources, the coal and the oil.
No concerns. No.
I’m sort of on the fence about this. I don’t know if it is a good thing or not.
But tonight’s meeting will be a difficult time for her.
To hear this constant drone night and day, I would have to move out of the village.
I would like to continue the point about the low frequency noise…
To me this is vandalising one of the most precious environments that we’ve still got in this country.
We simply cannot believe that this application is seriously being made.
I would like to propose a vote that we are against wind turbines.
I knew all the people in there. The community in Bow has not turned out in force against it.
It is the same faces, the core of DBVAG.
What I would wish for is that loads and loads of supporters came along as well.
But they don’t, so… Why not? Where are they?
Well, they’re probably sitting at home, looking after their kids, hard day at work, you know. Just normal people.
One person at the meeting still prepared to be open-minded is Mike Hulme.
I’m sort of reserving my position to some extent.
Because I have felt all the way along I want to try and look at both sides of the situation.
The owners of that company, whoever they may be, are in business, as you said at the beginning, to make money. The same as you or I would be. Of course. They are not in it for the good of the Earth. But when the lights go out and when we’ve got… We’ve got serious global warming issue at the moment.
What happened in the ice age, Mike?
I don’t think we can start getting into that. It’s cyclical. It’s cyclical.
Well, if you believe that basically we have to agree to disagree. Yes.
In my opinion anyway, without a doubt, CO2 emissions are contributing significantly to this global warming issue. And if we don’t do something about it, we are going to leave a dreadful legacy for the next generation.
Can I talk to you about the wind farm for a couple of minutes? I don’t agree with it. Good.
The objectors now have less than two weeks to make submissions to the council.
They decide to ask the public what they think.
You’re objecting for the following reasons, detrimental to the landscape, impact of noise and flicker on local people.
On Tucker’s farm, where the RES anemometer is collecting wind speed data, there’s been more direct protest.
They had a right old go at this. Obviously done with a pair of wire cutters. I’ve spoken to one or two people from the action group. They assure me it was nothing to do with them and I do believe them. And they were appalled by it as well. I hope they don’t try it again because I’d hate to be out here if I caught them.
Would you sign a letter of objection? No. That’s fine. That’s fine.
We should be using wave power. We totally agree with you.
Mike Hulme’s business is at a standstill.
He’s making a detailed objection and it isn’t finished yet.
It’s long, I mean I’ve barely started on it.
He’s concerned about noise, that he will sort of suffer as a result of noise from the wind farm.
You wouldn’t believe how much work is in there.
Our predictions are saying that he won’t.
Maureen, come in here…
Eventually, by the deadline, the Action Group hand in 3,000 signed objections.
They are also submitting a detailed objection to what they claim was the wind farm’s impact on landscape, noise, tourism and wildlife, and its limited generation of energy.
But Mike’s missed the deadline. He’s being trying to get the background noise data he claims RES promised him. So far he has only seen what’s in their environmental assessment and not the raw data.
This is why I want to talk to Rachel. I want to get to the bottom of it. But I can’t get her to talk to me about it any more.
If we give him the data, he’s going to ask us how to interpret it, what to do with it, how to average it, and all these things, which really, unless you’ve got a degree in acoustics, it’s quite difficult to do.
So far, we’ve got 402 objections, 31 support. And these are the ones which were handed in today.
What about if people hand things in later on, what happens then?
It is only up until the closing date, the end of today, and then we would have to speak to the Case Officer, Jane Green, to find out.
You’re wearing a suit? Bash insisted. She thought I looked like a hick.
OK, let’s go. So, are we going?
It’s four days later. Four days after the closing date for objections.
Does it feel like you handing in your homework?
Mike’s been told he can hand in his submission late. Rachel did make contact with him again.
It would appear she is trying to get the information to me, but possibly someone in a different part of the company is saying “no way”.
Hello, Stephen Gill is around, I think, so if you want to pull the door and come through.
OK.
Stephen Gill is West Devon’s Chief Planning Officer.
Are you Mr Gill? I am. I’m Mike Hulme. Hi, pleased to meet you.
I’m from Coxmoor. I’m about a thousand metres away from the wind farm.
That’s close.
I was waiting for some information from RES. I get the feeling that they have just basically fobbed me off. Fobbed me off and they won’t…
It’s us you’re dealing with now rather than them. So if you get anything…
So obviously, because it’s obviously very important to me.
Well, thanks a lot. Pleased to meet you.
OK. OK, cheers.
Well, that was quite good, wasn’t it?
It was just nice that he was willing to give me a bit of time.
Is there part of you that wants to get him and say, “Do us a favour and turn it down”?
Well, no, no, I’m not necessarily looking to have it…
I’m still not sure whether it’s the right thing to do or not. We have got an energy crisis on the horizon and we’ve got a pollution and global warming crisis going on. I’m not… certainly not convinced that this is the best way to address it.
But at least it is a gesture towards it, isn’t it?
We’re going to basically lose periods of quiet for the next 25 years, at least. If it’s worthwhile, it’s perhaps acceptable to pay that price, but if it is just a token gesture and a big money earner for an already wealthy company, it’s just a sad, sick situation, I think.
In four days time, West Devon Borough Council will meet to decide whether to give planning permission for the turbines. Before then, statutory consultees will give their view, including Dartmoor National Park Authority. Today, the Authority’s members will decide. Alone, they can’t stop the development but they can certainly limit its chances, should they choose to.
Right from the start, we’ve consulted with the Planning Officers and The National Park. I was fairly confident, really, not that they would come out and support it, but I would have expected them to say something like “no comment”. But the problem is I am not allowed to speak.
To the delight of the objectors, the Dartmoor Authority members vote not to support the wind farm.
I think that is three voted for, a lot voted against and a few abstained.
So.
The very landscape that they are trying to protect is the one that is going to be affected by climate change the most. So this technology is about protecting landscapes and ecology and habitat.
How was Rachel this morning? I expect she was disappointed.
I am sure she was disappointed.
If they win the day, perhaps they’ll think she’s done a wonderful job.
But we haven’t lost the battle yet, we’re still in the throes.
West Devon Council offices. Rachel’s come for the first meeting of the West Devon Council Planning Committee that will decide whether or not to grant the planning permission. Some of the objectors are there too. The Planning Committee consists of nine elected councillors and the chairman, Councillor Roger Mathew.
Right. Good morning, members, ladies and gentlemen.
The witching hour is upon us. The recommendation here is for a site inspection.
Jane?
I am advised that both the applicants and the Den Brook Valley Action Group are willing to fly balloons, weather permitting.
I think without much further ado, Councillor Darch, you are minded to move a site inspection.
Yes, I would be quite happy to move a site inspection.
I feel it’s the fairest way for members to go on site and see it for themselves.
All right, Ken?
So the councillors can judge the height of the turbines, John Shields is launching a protesters’ balloon from land near his cousin Martin Tucker’s farm.
Rachel’s brought in a team of her own experts.
We put one through your handle here, do we?
The protesters are making doubly certain their balloon can be seen clearly.
OK, let it go. Yeah, it’s looking good.
What’s he doing there? Yes, what’s he doing there?
That’s the antis. Chocks away!
They’ve got a white balloon to match the clouds. Would you believe it?
God, that’s horrendous.
If you were one of the councillors and you were elderly and your eyesight isn’t that sharp, are you going to pinpoint that when you’re two or three miles away? It’s going to be very hard for them to see.
Let’s not spend too long because I think it’s pretty clear.
The councillors will view the site from all the agreed viewpoints shown in RES photo montages.
It’s hard to pick them out, that white balloon.
Has everybody got the balloons?
I believe that to be the applicant’s two balloons.
The lower of which would be at 80 metres, which is hub height, and the higher one would be 120 metres which is the tip of the blade.
Have you all got that? Are there any questions for Jane at this point on points of policy or fact?
We don’t discuss the outcomes, I’ll just remind people.
Along the way, parish councillors are allowed to address the site meeting.
It’s not been proven that these turbines will provide sufficient energy.
To think what those turbines will take away from the lovely view from Dartmoor to Exmoor, it’s going to be a crying shame to spoil that outlook.
There you are, Chairman. Thank you very much.
Good morning, David. Good morning, Chairman. How are you?
There is a tremendous difference between the hub height and the…
It’s quite a big machine, yes. Have a look at the photograph. Pass it round.
Are we happy with that? Yes, thank you. Is everyone content?
Never content with this.
LAUGHTER AND GROANS
I am sorry, Chairman.
I’m not having expressions of view. I know you’re not.
You can tell me all about that at committee. I’ll talk about the Government, then.
Well, you can complain as much as you want then, but please not now because it is a public meeting.
Can we pull it all together, please, because we’re running short of time?
The blinking sergeant major knows the way.
In the interests of pressing on, what I want to do now is take the Spreyton Parish Council view and then I’ll take the ward member view.
Virtually 100% against.
On visual impact – it’s inconsistent with other planning policies.
Noise, all the other issues, but mainly the visual impact, and we are very much against it.
I think that’s all I need to say.
Can I add anything to that if possible?
No, I’m sorry, you can’t.
It’s not a public meeting.
It’s for councillors. It’s not a public meeting.
I thought I’d make myself clear. OK, that’s fine.
You come along to the meeting and you will hear how we deal with the determination on Tuesday week. OK?
All aboard – those who are coming aboard. Otherwise you will miss your lunch and have to walk home.
Ooh. Take my boots off now.
In 12 days at the final planning meeting, the councillors will have to vote.
We had two balloons under each other. Oh, right.
Before then, Chief Planning Officer Stephen Gill, his team and consultees meet to draw up recommendations ‘to help the councillors make their decision.
They have to get it right, as the decision is open to public scrutiny and could result in legal action. Case Officer Jane Green has prepared the draft report. So far, RES have refused the council’s request to hand over wind speed data they’ve recorded. They say it is commercially sensitive but council and objectors are both questioning just how much electricity the wind farm will really generate.
Den Brook Valley Action Group, outputs and benefits are not quantified or verified and there is an issue with the wind speeds. It seems that the output has been calculated using national figures rather than site-specific wind speed data.
RES claim that it will provide enough power for between 10,000 and 13,000 homes, but without the site-specific data, the council are reduced to using estimates from a wind atlas.
If you use the figures on the wind speed atlas, it does suggest that the applicants have made something of an overestimate.
Dave, landscape. It’s not just… totally subjective. We’ve got this evidence that the landscape character and so on…
The landscape is characterised and there is a detailed assessment of that.
We know what that is and we know how that’s going to be affected.
Right. So that’s all.
I’m grateful for you coming because it’s been quite difficult for us, I think. There’s a lot of issues here.
The meeting lasts for several hours. Finally a decision is made.
It’s been tricky and it’s still very much, to my mind, not absolutely clear cut, but I think we’ve got it right. I think we can defend it.
OK, if we’re all comfortable, thanks very much indeed, everyone.
The planning officer’s recommendations are due to be posted on the council’s website.
Just waiting and waiting. If this were to go ahead, the application, what would that mean to you?
If this was to go ahead? Yeah, it would be wonderful. It would be a life’s achievement.
It would be fantastic because I live here as well, so I would see that wind farm regularly.
Jenny Rosser, one of the objectors’ committee members also tries to find out what the decision is.
Hello, Maureen. It’s Jenny here.
Hello. I’m having difficulty getting into the West Devon Borough Council website.
I’m checking.
I’m checking. I’m checking.
I’m checking. Ho ho.
I think it might be here.
It’s here, It’s here!
Oh, great.
Is it good, bad or indifferent?
It’s not just telling me in one go.
It’s all blah, blah, blah. Ah! Terrific!
Oh, refused.
On what grounds?
For the following reasons.
Visual impact.
Go on, read it to me. I can’t read it.
The council’s report recommends refusal chiefly because of the wind farm’s visual impact on the landscape and its possible effect on the site’s historic and archaeological environment. It also notes that RES’s claims for the amount of electricity it would generate are not adequately substantiated.
I’ve just got to try and pull my act together.
SOBS: I’ve got to go and pick up the kids in a minute.
That’s really good news.
An outright refusal apparently and on lots of very solid grounds. That’s really terrific.
They don’t believe it will, you know, generate any electricity. This is just mad.
RES’s policy of not releasing first noise data and now wind data has made people suspicious.
But anything could still happen. This is an episode in the saga.
I certainly don’t see it being the end of the line.
Just because they’ve been recommended to refuse doesn’t mean that they have to refuse it.
The next day, Rachel has read the full report and wants to tackle the council on its recommendations.
I would really like to have a face-to-face meeting to have these things explained before we get into the land of lawyers.
Who’s that? Is that him?
No. It is.
If there is reasonable justification for what they’re saying and why they haven’t put certain comments in, then bring it on.
Let’s hear what it is.
Hi. Hello. I’m Stephen Gill.
I’m Rachel Ruffle. I won’t be a minute.
I’ll swap one file. What more do you want us to do?
Ideally, I’d like that report, as it stands now, not to be in the public domain, because members and other people will be reading it.
But it is, unless you’ve got a…
We can’t go back in time. It can be changed.
We’ve got no problem with this. This is what we thought at the time of writing.
You’ve given us something since, fine. What you have given us is this.
A letter from Rachel had not arrived in time for the council’s report.
I gave it to you on the morning.
It argued that even using the wind speed atlas figures, the energy yield from the wind farm would match RES’s target of supplying between 10,000 and 13,000 homes.
I’m not allowed to release the site data into the public domain but given what you say yourself that 6.4 to 6.8 eight metres per second is a reasonable wind speed, the capacity factor comes out at 28.5% and that’s what that letter explains.
But we didn’t have this when we were preparing the report.
You won’t release the site data previously… But that is only basic maths in there.
OK. We would release it to you in confidence and we will release it to an independent technical expert, but we will not release it into the public domain because it causes too much hassle.
He was really quite defensive and sort of saying, “We’re not biased. It’s not a biased report.”
Look, me, reading the report, I work in this, I’ve been doing this for two years, I read it and I don’t see the positive comments from the Environment Agency, I don’t see the positive comments from English Nature.
I see questions about low-frequency noise effects and strobe effects which are ludicrous, looniest things left hanging in the air.
I was doing my nicest, sort of, smile to try and keep everything calm.
What did you achieve in that?
Um, well, I don’t think they’re going to defer it. I’m pretty sure now that they’re just going to push it through and object to it.
The next day, and things could get even worse for Rachel.
Devon County Council are also consultees.
She goes to see if they will be supporting West Devon’s recommended refusal.
Their vote goes against her too.
I imagine she’s not feeling too happy.
We got some email which I think we need to explore with Jane in a moment, because there are some points of detail.
She is going on in her second substantive paragraph about the energy yield.
Presumably you will update members on that.
I have left a copy of their calculations in both member’s rooms, if anyone wants to get into the detail of it, so it’s readily accessible.
I would invite members just to disregard the latter part of that paragraph.
I think that’s the correct and fair thing to do.
But does it materially affect the balance of your recommendation?
No, it doesn’t, Chairman, and it doesn’t answer certain questions about the site specifics of the wind which they’re still refusing to release.
In 24 hours, along with the other main parties, Rachel will be allowed a three-minute speech at the final planning committee meeting.
She’s drafting it with her RES PR colleague.
They only get three minutes as well.
I think our argument should be, yes, it will be visible, but, on balance, the benefits of this project far outweigh any of those concerns.
Den Brook should be seen as an opportunity to do something about climate change.
Why don’t they do a poll of the local area? Why don’t you challenge them to do a poll? I’m sure it would come out favourably.
What it’s really coming down to is visual effect.
Is there anything you can do tomorrow to try and make a difference? If we can try and make them see that they’ve got this opportunity to actually do something positive.
They have to have the courage to do it. It’s all about courage to make that decision.
Go. “Hello, I’m Rachel Ruffle. I’m the project manager for the Den Brook proposal.”
RES Technical Director Chris Shears, down from head office, will share the three minutes with Rachel.
Try to say to these guys, “Look, you are important people.” Puff their chests out a bit, you know.
“You have the ability to take this decision, and it’s a very important decision in the context of climate change and global warming, energy security, blah, blah, blah.
“You can either put your head in the sand or you can take a positive decision that will allow the project to proceed in a timely fashion rather than everyone go through the pain of a public inquiry and all the taxpayers’ money that that’s going to take.”
The chairman of the committee with chauffeur has just arrived and is coming down towards you. Over.
OK, Keith. I’ll direct them down.
The next stage in the future of the Den Brook turbines is about to be decided.
The chairman of the committee and his chauffeur, OK? Carry on.
Good morning. I thought it best to be driven this morning. Yes, I’m the chauffeur.
It’s all about location, isn’t it?
It’s all… Well, it’s all about material planning considerations, Margaret, as always.
Morning, gentlemen.
Rachel has argued forcefully over the last few days that her company’s energy estimates for the wind farm are not exaggerated, but RES still haven’t released either the wind data or the background noise data.
Good morning, members.
But still, anything could happen.
The councillors don’t have to accept the recommendations of the officers.
What a morning for my voice to start playing up.
But…
…you’ll all just have to strain to hear me. Starting on page 22.
Den Brook. Jane? The Environment Agency have written…
Responding to Rachel’s pressure, Jane Green briefs the meeting on a number of organisations who have no objection to the building of the wind farm.
…broadly happy with the proposed methodology.
I also have a letter from the applicants which unfortunately arrived just after the report was printed off.
She also confirms that wind speeds from the wind atlas are consistent with RES’s predicted energy yield.
So I would invite you to disregard the latter half of the second paragraph on page 33 of the report stating “this is of concern”.
Very comprehensive, if I may say so.
The chief planning officer then gives the key reasons why he is recommending that Council members vote to refuse planning permission.
It’s the combination of that sheer scale and the high quality of the landscape character that causes this particular proposal to have a significant adverse impact in officers’ view, and one that unfortunately outweighs what we recognise as the many benefits.
We therefore feel that the proposal is unacceptable and we feel it’s unacceptable in policy terms.
That brings us to the public speakers.
Tony has a useful egg timer. Miss Ruffle?
Do you mind if we split it? One and a half minutes? I’ll let you do it, but I’d rather you’d asked me before. I did actually ask the clerk.
Did you? Oh, well. We tried it once before and it doesn’t work terribly well.
It’s up to you, up to you.
Tony will start his egg timer.
No statutory bodies have raised concerns on noise, ecology, wildlife, aviation or hydrology. A Mori Poll in 2004 said 71% of rural residents in Devon would be pleased to see a wind farm in their area. It comes down to a balance. You should commission a Mori Poll of the local residents and ask them the question, would they prefer to do nothing in the face of climate change or to have a small change, a temporary change in the landscape for clean, green and local power?
Chairman, councillors, your officers have got it wrong, unfortunately. They have got the balance wrong between the need to develop renewable energy sources and the weight to be ascribed a well-designed, well-thought-through wind farm in an undesignated landscape. Wind farms like Den Brook become more essential each day. Clean energy at the point of use, simple and secure, enough power for 50% of the homes of West Devon. So I would ask you today to think very carefully about this decision. Be bold, strike the right balance and support this wind farm.
You just, just scraped in under the wire, sir. Thank you very much.
I will now open the issue to members for debate.
From Nymet Cross and from Nichols Nymet, I looked across miles and miles of beautiful, unspoilt countryside. Then I consulted the photo montage to see these imposing structures which would completely change our wonderful Devon landscape. For the reason of the immense visual impact, I shall be voting to support the officers’ recommendation.
I am still very undecided, even at this stage.
I am still not wholly convinced that we should be refusing this.
The only place I really had feelings was in Bow at the playing fields and in Strawberry Fields, from the gardens that we saw there. The impact for those people will be huge.
I am not ambivalent about windmills, wind turbines et cetera, but I don’t passionately dislike them either.
I shall await Councillor Waterhouse’s comments before I even make my mind up, because I am still very unsure.
Sir. Think of the future. I’m a great-grandfather, by the way. It will be the second time in May.
LAUGHTER
What will our great-grandchildren say about the idiots who allowed this to go ahead, whether in Government or whether in local council?
I made a note the other day and I’m going to read it out to you, Chairman. If this application goes to appeal and they win, then all West Devon Borough councillors must become militant and block all roads to the site.
LAUGHTER
You said this on site visit.
No doubt there would be help from the 3,000 plus objectors to the proposed site blockage. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Councillor Hughes. West Devon Borough Council’s Home Guard!
LAUGHTER
Do you want to come in now, Mrs Waterhouse?
I have found it very, very difficult to come to a conclusion. I am not going to support the officers’ recommendation on this occasion.
Um…
I am going to concentrate on trying to persuade people that if you look at these wind turbines, they are, in their own right, beautiful objects exploiting the materials of which they are made.
They are contributing to our continuing well-being and if in the end, as Mrs Govier says, we don’t like them, we can take them down.
I want to try and pull the threads together, and I’m going to try and do that now. I also want to add a little bit of balance, I think, and pull us onto the planning issues. The planning issues are what we are going to have to focus on. Then I’ll ask the mover, Councillor Darch, to reply to the debate and we will get a vote going.
Yes, I am entitled to my own view and I am entitled to tell you because I’m a member of the committee as well as its chairman, so it’s time I came off the fence. I shall be supporting the recommendation, but I want to explain why, because I shall do so rather sadly, actually very sadly. Like Mrs Waterhouse, I don’t actually object to wind turbines. I can find a form fitted to function in them which I find elegant, and I think you can learn to love them. But there is an issue of scale, and when you actually stand in a gateway in the Den Brook Valley and you look out over it, and you relate the photographs, which incidentally are excellent, and you relate those to what you can see on the ground and you look at the balloons, you don’t even actually have to look at the balloons because you can pick it up from the photograph. I mean, this is huge. These machines are huge. To get it into proportion, however, they are only two-thirds of the height of the North Hessary Mast, which is about 640 feet, and that is bang in the middle of the National Park in a most prominent location. You can see it for score of miles. There’s a balance to be drawn here. But you’re looking here not just at one, you’re looking at nine, and you’re looking at it in a much smaller-scale landscape. That is part of the reason, only part of the reason, why the officers came to the conclusion not only that there was an impact, but that it’s a significant impact and that it’s a detrimental impact. It’s a matter of judgement whether the scale of this proposal is so great as to justify a refusal.
That’s the key issue that your officers are bringing in front of you and that’s what you should have in your mind when you vote. The recommendation is, as on page 36, to refuse for those reasons. I will see those in favour of that motion, please.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Those against? One, two, three.
That is carried.
The application is refused and we will now break… I think it will be fair to break for 20 minutes, because I expect some people might want to interview some members and now is the time to do it.
I think if the scale had been better related, you might have stood a better chance.
We’ll take that away and think about it. I regret it, but it was the right decision, I’m afraid.
It was a fine balance. I was just saying to the chairman, it’s a difficult one.
You did mention turbulence, didn’t you?
Sorry? You did mention turbulence. There’s a lot of turbulence in this business, for sure.
Why didn’t the council, the planners, say to us, “This is a big problem with the scale. Go back. This is not going to be acceptable. We think it’s got severe visual impact.” Why has it only come up now?
Put your elbows up on it. That’s it. Let’s have a cheer.
I understand people who are objecting to it obviously feel happy. What are you celebrating? The fact that you’re not taking responsibility for your own power.
Anybody want to buy some signs? I think it’s going to go on.
Farmer Tucker, he’s not going to let go, is he?
As long as you haven’t spent the dream, you’re all right. Believe me, I haven’t.
This is quite a symbolic moment, don’t you think?
I wonder if RES are going to go for appeal.
So all I would ask you is tell me what noise level I am going to receive, what emission level I am going to receive.
It’s a big thing for me, this noise thing.
I know it’s a big thing.
I’ve spent more hours talking to you about it than…
Sure.
But then I’m probably the only one who’s focused in on that.
If we decide we’re going to go for appeal, then I’ll revisit it.
I’ve got to take them to the train station.
Yes. Well done today.
Well done today. Yes.
After months of fighting, the battle for Den Brook is nowhere near finished yet.
Press release announcing our decision to appeal West Devon Borough Council’s refusal.
I will begin by formally opening the inquiry.
Their high-powered barristers will just tear me to shreds.
If you don’t like the answer, you can come back afterwards. No… I’m sorry…
Data from the noise measurements have not been made available.
This begs the question as to whether information has been purposefully withheld.
What on earth are we sacrificing this beautiful environment for?
You won’t tell us.
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