The headline “Wind turbine ‘jungle’ fears” (Examiner February 23) should serve as a wake-up call to residents of the Colne Valley.
There appears to be no end to the number of turbines that Crow Edge residents will have to suffer – clearly Royds Moor was the thin end of the wedge, as any development in the Colne Valley would be.
Kali Mountford was at it again in Parliament a couple of weeks ago, misleading Ministers with: “…communities in my constituency are keen for changes to be made so that they can have energy from renewable sources…” but “…they feel that they are stymied by current regulations.”
She asked: “What comfort can they be given that those obstacles can be removed.” Presumably one of the obstacles will be local objections, like the 4,000 received by Oldham Council objecting to a wind farm at Castleshaw.
I asked Ms Mountford why she was misrepresenting her constituents in Parliament by using results of a survey by a biased group (“Valley Wind”). She brushed me off on grounds of semantics.
I also asked: “Looking at a map of the Colne Valley area there appear to me to be very few sites not owned by the National Trust that are likely to lend themselves to wind farms. These are Deer Hill/Black Moor, Slaithwaite Moor/Scammonden, Meltham Moor/West Nab and possibly Bolster Moor. If proven suitable, would you support development in these areas?”
Needless to say, again I received a non-committing answer. Do you live in one of these areas? Thousands of us do.
I found it interesting that Thursday’s Examiner poll: “Should we have a referendum on the European constitution?” drew a 78.8% “Yes” vote – just about exactly what “Valley Wind” claim the support for wind farms is. Yet Ms Mountford has no intention of lobbying for a vote any time soon, despite one being promised in the last two Labour manifestos.
Kali Mountford is using the fact that nobody who objects to wind farms is making their voice heard to her – judging by letters to the Examiner’s Mailbag there are plenty of people who don’t want wind farms in the Colne Valley. Please take the time to write to Ms Mountford – it only takes a one-liner and it’s dead easy – email mountfordk@parliament.uk.
The battle against the defilement of the beautiful Colne Valley has started, and so far we’re losing.
Richard Huddleston
West Slaithwaite
3 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/03/is-the-answer-blowin-in-the-wind-my-friend/