Swishing blades spoiling our TV pictures, say residents
Telly fans are seeing double after two giant wind turbines started operating on a South Yorkshire industrial complex.
The turbines operated by the University of Sheffield are sited on Waverley Advanced Manufacturing Park, just off the Parkway between Sheffield and Rotherham.
But people living in nearby Catcliffe claim the 90ft swishing blades of the turbines are causing ripples which are affecting their TV and mobile phone reception.
Now angry residents are calling for action after they say their viewing is being spoiled by crackling, wobbly images and flickering on their screens.
Father of two Martin Oldfield, aged 46, of California Drive, said: “The TV signal is obviously moving to the beat of the propellers going round. It is pinching the signal and causing crackling and all sorts of interference.
“We are already in a dip and our signal comes from the Sheffield side, so the wind turbines directly in line with that cause problems.
“It is affecting both the analogue and digital signals and only started at exactly the same time that the wind turbines started to work. Our neighbours are suffering the same problems, so it is not something caused just by our aerial or reception.
“I have read on the Internet that wind farms have caused TV signal problems in other areas so I am sure that it what is happening. It is driving us all mad and we want to know if there is anything that can be done about it.”
University of Sheffield spokeswoman Lyndsey Bird confirmed they had received complaints after the turbines started to operate.
She said: “We are taking this very seriously and engineers have gone out to the site to see what is happening. We are looking at what we can do and will do our best to resolve it.”
A spokesman for the watchdog group OfCom, which monitors complaints about TV reception, said: “It is a possibility that the turbines are interfering with the TV signals. It is the type of thing we do investigate and if people contact us we will send someone out to have a look.”
By Ray Parkin
17 May 2008
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