April 5, 2008
England, Letters

Commercial windfarms will swamp our beautiful country

I write in the hope that your readers will be willing to take a few minutes to prevent it happening.

“Cumbria is on course for its 100th commercial scale wind turbine. But that number would actually double very quickly if developers did not run into so much opposition across the county (The Cumberland News, November 16).”

The situation has deteriorated seriously since then as the full implications of the Government’s latest turbine intentions have become apparent.

I was recently informed by a member of the West Cumbrian Development Agency that wind turbines currently occupy a total of five square miles of our county and then when the Government’s plans are fully implemented this will grow to an area of 250 square miles – a 5000 per cent increase.

Please take a moment to imagine the impact this will have. Our county will be virtually unrecognisable.

It will be impossible to take a walk or drive without being surrounded by turbines, each generation taller than the last.

The Lake District will not be immune (Friends of the Earth have said they want turbines for every village).

The coast will suffer even more as offshore wind “farms” surround the whole of the UK. This is not scare-mongering, it is simple fact.

Parliament’s hypocrisy in this matter is breathtaking. Their own energy consumption has increased 86 per cent in 10 years; the Government’s target is to increase British air traffic by 300 per cent by 2020 (White Paper 2003); they continue to use huge gas-guzzling ministerial cars (flying the flag for Britain according to John Hutton); and they are aware that the huge increase in CO2 emissions by other countries will make whatever we do in this country totally irrelevant.

Their actions would suggest that they don’t genuinely believe that wind turbines will make any difference, which is why I have referred to turbines as the great Spindle Swindle.

It is now quite clear that they know the truth, namely, like it or note, the only 24/7, reliable, CO2 emission-free source of energy currently available is nuclear, with carbon capture coal a strong possibility for the future, possibly combined with an element of solar and tidal power.

To make the full case against wind turbines would require several editions of your newspaper, but these basic facts alone should hopefully convince readers of the true size of this real and imminent threat.

For or against, we must all make sure that our voice is heard.

So what can we do? If nothing else we can register our objection, however briefly with the relevant authorities.

The residents of the Tebay area did just that and scored a complete victory. If each of us opposes every application, then our county can be saved.

I would ask readers to write a letter, as long or as short as you like, one sentence would do, the number of letters being far more important than the length, objecting to the Warwick Hall Farm, Westnewton, Wigton, CA7 3PF application from Broadview Energy Developments Limited, which is currently at the appeal stage.

Three copies of your letter should be sent, to: Sheila Parkin, The Planning Inspectorate, Rom 3/18a Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN (quote Appeal Reference APP/G0908/A/2067443/NWF).

Just one stamp, one envelope, three small sheets of paper, a few minutes of your time, and the invasion of these monsters can be stopped dead.

Please do it immediately, because the deadline for this particular case is April 10.

We can’t guarantee the outcome, but whatever happens, those of us who made the effort can at least tell our children and grandchildren we did our best.

COLIN AINSWORTH

White Horse Yard

Queen Street

Aspatria