A public meeting in Auchtermuchty heard how a Lincolnshire family had abandoned their home to escape the noise of nearby wind turbines.
Auchtermuchty Community Association chair Andy Heer said about 100 people attended the meeting in the Victoria Hall.
Auchtermuchty Landscape and Environment Group held the meeting as part of its campaign against EnergieKontor’s application to build a windfarm at Rossie.
David Brearley, of Cumbria, and Lincolnshire’s Jane Davies described to the audience how their lives had been disrupted by the noise from nearby turbines.
Jane, whose farmhouse was 900 metres from the nearest turbine, related how she and her family were unable to work or sleep and her daughter was unable to study.
Finally she and her family had abandoned their home and were now living in rented accommodation.
Mr Heer said Jane’s house was further from that windfarm than many houses in Auchtermuchty would be from the proposed development at Rossie.
David and his neighbours had unsuccessfully taken windfarm developers to court in an effort to stop the noise, which he likened to “a clog in a washing machine”.
He pointed out wind turbines were quiet to observers standing close to them, but most of the noise was generated at distances of several hundred metres.
Auchtermuchty Landscape and Environment Group chairman David White appealed for support from the local community in stopping the proposed windfarm development.
Mr Heer said the group would need to raise about £20,000 to pay for the necessary experts and legal representation at the public inquiry in January that would decide on EnergieKontor’s plans.
By Janet Howie
15 November 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/11/16/auchtermuchty-residents-attend-windfarm-public-meeting/