Having recently attended a public meeting regarding the proposed wind farm on the Bleak House site, on the border between Cannock Chase district and Lichfield district, residents of Chase Terrace were concerned that our elected councillors were conspicuous by their absence.
Why? Has LDC not been involved in or informed of the proposal by Harworth Power?
How can such an important proposal be passed without any thought of the impact on the surrounding communities?
Chase Terrace residents feel abandoned by councillors they elected to represent, support and protect their community. Surely the councillors should be aware of such issues and make themselves aware of the possible effects on their communities?
The meeting informed the residents that wind turbine number three is to be resited and will be only 640 yards from the nearest home.
The World Health Organisation recommends a buffer zone of two kilometres from the nearest family home.
Having no objections to wind farms but knowing little about them except that they appear to be a ‘green’ alternative source of power, I searched the internet for information and have made the following discoveries.
There is an abundance of information available to anyone who wishes to be more informed.
Wind farms, however, are not proving financially viable since windpower, particularly on inland sites, is unreliable and intermittent, resulting in the need for alternative sources of energy to be available at all times alongside the wind farm for when the lights go out!
WHO, DEFRA, UKNA and the European & British Wind Energy Association have commissioned reports, research and annual surveys by professional scientists, engineers and health practitioners to investigate the effects of existing UK wind farms on the local communities.
The main concern is the biological and physiological effect on people living within the area of a wind farm.
Low density sound (LDS) from the wind turbines causes electromagnetic disturbance, producing ground-borne vibrations which travel further than audible noise. This has been found to create dizziness, nausea, inability to concentrate, anxiety, headaches and sleeplessness in the communities surrounding the wind farm site.
Apparently LDS was used during WWII as a torture to great effect.
WHO states that ‘the evidence of low frequency noise is sufficiently strong to warrant immediate concern’. Optimum noise levels are set at 30dBs. Harworth Power (UK Coal) proposes figures which range between 40-50dBs.
Surely this is not acceptable, especially when the wind farm will be in such close proximity (within a one-two mile radius) of homes and schools in Chase Terrace?
The French National Academy of Medicine, considers ‘LDS constitutes permanent risk for people exposed’.
There are other factors which cause concern such as the effect on the wildlife in the area, whose hearing is more sensitive that human, as LDS will affect their habitat. There is evidence of deer, fox, badgers, brown hare, great -crested newts, bats and numerous birdlife on the site and in the local vicinity.
Areas such as Biddulph Pool, No Man’s Bank, Norton Bog, Norton Pool, Chasewater Country Park and the SSSI iron-age fort at Castle Ring all lie within the two-mile radius of Bleak House site.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reports a de-valuation of homes in wind farm communities of 20-25 per cent leaving some families in a negative equity situation.
Whilst we all agree that alternative sources of energy need to be investigated, inland wind farms do not supply sufficient energy and are proving expensive and inefficient.
The information is freely available to anyone who has access to a computer and I respectfully urge residents of Burntwood and their elected councillors to arm themselves with information before it is too late.
Interestingly, our esteemed ‘green’ ex-leader Tony Blair, objected to a wind farm proposal within one mile of his Sedgefield home in December 2004, and it was immediately quashed! What price hypocrisy?
Not in his backyard, and please, Cannock Chase councillors, not in ours.
D M Price, Princess Street, Burntwood.
28 February 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/02/people-should-be-aware-of-the-hazards-caused-by-windfarms/