February 14, 2008
England, Letters

Wind turbines a threat to planes

Your Shaftesbury and Gillingham edition reported the proposed erection of six wind turbines, each 300 metres high, near the B3081 in the Silton/Gillingham area.

It is interesting to note that they would lie directly under the flight path to Yeovilton. Military aircraft pass just north of Gillingham and over Silton whilst making their final approach and are therefore at a lower altitude and letting down their undercarriage, with the remaining distance to touch down being a mere 20 miles or less.

It has already been made abundantly clear that wind turbines interfere with military radar and ground direction control and these concerns were repeated publicly once again only last week by a senior officer of the RAF. Ministry of Defence objections to wind turbine projects elsewhere in the country have already been sustained. Also noteworthy is the Scottish Parliament’s refusal of applications for a large wind farm on the grounds that they presented an unnecessary destruction of landscape beauty and endangered wildlife for unacceptably minimal and unreliable returns.

May I suggest that north Dorset planners investigate as a priority the probability of an over-riding objection from the Ministry of Defence to the Silton wind turbine project.

This initial action could result in saving the expense of a great deal of otherwise wasted staff time, dispense with protracted discussions and avoid the stress being placed once again on the vast majority of residents, both in Somerset and Dorset.

These people have already expressed their strong and sustained objections to a similar wind turbine project only two miles distant, a project which was refused for a variety of reasons.

Peter Maddock, Bay Lane, Gillingham.

Western Gazette

14 February 2008


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/14/wind-turbines-a-threat-to-planes/