February 14, 2007
Letters, U.K.

Alarmed at turbines plan

With regard to the proposed wind farm at Carsington, I have been to see the planning application at the council offices and was alarmed by what I found.

I have photographed, walked and climbed in this area for the last 30 years and consider the view from the top of Harborough Rocks to be one of the finest in the county, and the best in the southern part of Derbyshire.

I have also brought students to the area over this period and I know that they and their families come back time and again.

Four 335ft-high wind turbines will have an overwhelming effect on this unique part of the county.

On aesthetic grounds, they are out of proportion with the scale of anything there, even before you consider the inappropriateness of such structures in a rural location.

I made a video of the making of the Time Team programme (Channel 4) when they excavated Carsington Pastures in 2002.

I became aware of how important this site is from an archaeological point of view.

This perspective was gleaned from members of the archaeology department at Sheffield University, who participated in the programme.

I am sure that they, and people like Tony Robinson, would want to know about this application.

The historically important High Peak Trail is next to this site and attracts thousands of visitors on foot, bike and horse every year, as I am sure your readers are aware.

If the application is successful, it would seriously affect this area by deterring visitors who would not want to spend time in a normally extremely attractive part of the county if they had these enormous structures looming over them.

The view towards Brassington and Carsington from Kniveton Winn – also one of the best in the county – would also be irrevocably changed.

I know that view includes Hoben Works, but that existed long before the tourist industry and amenity benefits to local residents were the major issues they are today.

The view north from Carsington Water would be dominated by these enormous turbines and would surely affect the reservoir’s visitor numbers and its ornithological projects.

Professor Paul Hill,

Ivy Cottage,

Bradbourne.

thisisderbyshire.co.uk


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/02/14/alarmed-at-turbines-plan/