Despite detailed and strong objections from all the local community councils surrounding Ammanford and from Neath Port Talbot and Swansea City councils, and also strong, detailed and reasoned objections from organisations like The Council for the Protection of Rural Wales, from the Countryside Council for Wales, Cambrian Archaeology, Cadw, Environment Agency, the Rights of Way/Access manager, the Brecon Beacons National Park, the Open Space Society, the Gower Society, Mawr Community Council, the Ramblers, the Health and Safety Executive, three protest groups, and 500 residents to an application to build 16 massive turbines on Betws Mountain near Ammanford, Carmarthenshire Council approved the application.
This application consists of 16 massive turbines together with a substation, a construction compound, offices, stores, a car park and fuel store, external switch gear and transformers, a steel monitoring mast, and the building of 7.3 km of roads. What of the irretrievable damage the massive concrete bases will cause as they will remain in the mountain forever, along with kilometres of electric cables?
The tragedy is Carmarthenshire Council has brilliant policies that are more than adequate to protect our precious environment, and which have served us well over the years. These giant turbines will trash our hills and mountains and destroy our valuable landscape.
Does this make any sense ?
Apparently this does make sense to Labour-led WAG and Carwyn Jones and his TAN8 – our councils and our opinions don’t matter. To them we are just ignorant ratepayers.
Ceinwen Rees,
Pontamman, Ammanford
4 July 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/07/04/objections-were-ignored/