April 11, 2008
Wales

Farm plans hit opposition

Plans for a wind farm on the Cynon Valley mountainside have run into strong opposition.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, which is itself urging refusal of Pennant Walters’s planning application when it comes before a public inquiry later this year, says public response to the proposal has been overwhelmingly unfavourable.

People are concerned about possible detrimental effects on the local environment, wildlife, tourism potential and economic regeneration.

But the 12-turbine wind farm does have some supporters.

Among hundreds of letters and a small number of petitions submitted to the council, seven were in favour of the plan.

Supporters of the scheme say power generation from renewable energy is essential to alleviate global climate change.

They also argue the applicant is a local company and there may be an opportunity for increased local employment and that the site has been well chosen.

They also say the wind farm will not negatively affect tourism in the Dare Valley Country Park or the Cynon Valley as a whole and that other wind farms have become tourism attractions in their own right.

According to them, it will positively benefit tourism, and visitors may also gain a new insight into the “green” credentials of local people and Wales in general.

They add that the wind farm will not damage the landscape, and if it did it could easily be removed in the future.

by Linda Elias, Cynon Valley Leader