January 10, 2008
England

Villagers face £30,000 bill to fight turbine plan

Villagers are faced with fighting yet another battle over plans to build a £3million wind farm on a South Hams beauty spot – after twice thinking they had already won the day.

The campaigners are faced with raising a massive £30,000 between them to fight a planning appeal after the last project to build three huge wind turbines near the village of Goveton was booted out by planners last time around.

Now they are also faced with battling a new planning application for the three 100-metre high turbines on exactly the same farm.

The only difference between the new project and the one subject to an appeal is that one of the turbines has been moved 93 metres.

Rosalind Spears, a member of the Buckland tout Saints Residents Group which has fought every wind farm proposal for the site, said: “The turbines are still in the same fields, they are the same height and will have the same output. There is only a very slight difference.”

She said the decision to put forward the new application when the appeal has yet to be heard on the last application had ‘astounded’ the campaigners.

“We are objecting to this one as strenuously as we did the last,” she said.

There is still no date for the appeal which was lodged after planners rejected the last wind turbine scheme for Beech Tree Farm out of hand.

But the campaigners are planning to hire a landscape architect and a barrister to put their case which, said Mrs Spears, is reckoned will cost them some £30,000.

“We are looking to raise that money with lots of fun activities,” she said.

The controversial scheme to build the turbines, which campaigners claim would be visible out at sea in Start Bay, first surfaced more than three years ago with an application by npower, which was withdrawn before it went before planners.

The second application involving the Helston-based Cornwall Light and Power Company was turned down under delegated authority by planners in April last year on the basis that it would be an eyesore and harm the beauty and character of what is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The campaigners learned in November that the company had decided to appeal against that decision.

The latest planning application was lodged with South Hams Council at the very end of November.

Mrs Spears pointed out that the formal closing date for comments on the latest proposals is tomorrow although, she said, she had been told the council would accept letters after that date.

Herald Express

10 January 2008


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/01/10/villagers-face-30000-bill-to-fight-turbine-plan/