March 29, 2008
England, Letters, Noise

You couldn't make it up!

Jane Davis

I know that many of your friends follow our story with interest, so here’s the latest “episode”.

The District Council undertook a period of monitoring at our home last October. They came to measure the noise for an hour a night on 26 nights. On the basis of this they decided that there was no statutory noise nuisance, and although there were three minor breaches of the planning permission they did not feel it appropriate to prosecute. This “result” then went into the public domain and was published widely as a result of being incorporated in a BWEA release to its members. (Although no mention was made of the three minor breaches.) Statements based on this release were then submitted as proofs of evidence to several planning Inquiries across the UK. Some other statements, based on this information – but going further and attacking us personally for having hypersensitive hearing have also been sent to Development Control Council members in various Local Authorities, who were due to discuss planning applications in their own areas!

We complained to the Ombudsman about the way the whole noise complaint has been handled, and she has yet to report on this. However more information came to light last week when it became obvious, that for whatever reason, the turbines were only operating for a third to a half of their normal output last October. Thus all statements etc are based on flawed information and as no other month in the whole of the wind farm’s operation has ever been so quiet it is no wonder that the Council were able to decide that there was not a statutory nuisance … and yet there were still 3 breaches of condition.

As I said you really couldn’t make it up could you?

And we still have lost our home.

Jane Davis


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/alerts/2008/03/29/you-couldnt-make-it-up/