June 20, 2008
England
England
Green energy firm Ecotricity has announced it is to appeal against West Norfolk Council’s refusal of planning permission for a wind turbine at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Managing director Dale Vince said he believed council planners’ concerns could easily have been resolved.
“The bodies behind the two main objections have said so,” said Mr Vince.
He also hit out against planners’ refusal to defer a decision for “just a few weeks” for more negotiations to overcome military and air ambulance opposition.
The result was a “shameful waste of time and money,” Mr Vince declared.
Development control board members rejected the plan in April after hearing that Defence Estates (part of the Ministry of Defence) feared the 80-metre-high turbine would affect radar detection of aircraft by RAF Marham.
The operators of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Sterling Aviation, were also concerned that the turbine could jeopardise safe flight operations and helipad landings.
Board members voiced wide-ranging additional objections. They included the proximity of the turbine site (in the hospital car park) to the busy A149, risk to car park users, noise pollution, shadow flicker, visual blight and disturbance to nearby residents.
QEH had hoped to save £26,000 a year on electricity costs and chief operating officer Ms Rowena Barnes said: “We should be doing everything possible to conserve energy.”
The hospital’s communications manager, Mr Richard Humphries, added: “We fully support the appeal.
“Our view is that every penny we can save on overheads such as energy costs is an extra penny we can put towards the care of our patients.”
19 June 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/06/20/qeh-turbine-no-blasted-shameful-waste-of-money/