March 28, 2008
England
England
Residents in a picturesque East Riding village fear they may have to fight off plans to erect wind turbines once again.
An application has been submitted to East Riding Council to build a 60-metre (196ft) wind monitoring mast in North Newbald.
The plan has already been met with opposition from residents, who claim it is a precursor to a wind farm proposal.
Clive Bolton, chairman of the North Newbald parish council, told the Mail residents were worried that the installation of the mast may lead to an application for a wind farm.
He said: “The mast would obviously be a precursor to an application to put wind turbines there.
“The company obviously feels there is merit in doing it, but we truly believe the fact the area is one of outstanding natural beauty is more important.
“The thing is to be about 200ft high and would detract from the beauty of the area.”
Mr Bolton also explained how the village had opposed a wind farm application back in 1994 and didn’t want to go through the same again.
He said: “Several years ago, there was an application and many people in the village spent a large amount of time fighting it.
“The decision made at the time was that the proposal was not acceptable and the area was not suitable for wind turbines. How different will it be now?
“We have done it once and it was a long process, we don’t want another proposal on our hands.”
The application outlines the mast would be built on Stoneknowle Hill, believed to be owned by Humberside Farmers.
The 60-metre anemometry device would be in place for three years and is designed to measure wind speed and direction.
The Mail tried contacting Humberside Farmers, but no one was available for comment.
Planning officers at East Riding Council have recommended the application for approval.
But a spokesman for East Riding Council told the Mail it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the application.
He said: “Every application is considered on individual merits and at this time it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Samantha Crosby, planning and development manager for West Coast Energy, the parent company responsible for the application confirmed the site was being considered for a wind farm.
She said: “We have had a 10m mast there for some months and now we want a higher one to get more accurate information.
“The information will determine whether the site is suitable for wind turbines.”
For further details about the application, which is being made by Sober Hill Wind Energy Ltd, visit East Riding Council’s planning search section on its website.
The application reference number is 08/00706/STPLF.
28 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/28/will-this-decision-lead-to-turbines/