July 8, 2008
England

New windfarm planned

A plan has been submitted to build a £2.8-million wind farm on the doorstep of two North Lincolnshire villages.

The bid, by Bristol-based firm Wind Prospects Developments, will be discussed by Flixborough Parish Council tonight, and by Burton-Upon-Stather council on July 14.

Neither authority has yet adopted an official stance on the issue, but planners at North Lincolnshire Council have so far received five objections.

A protest group, called BAT – Burton Against Turbines – this week launched a door-to-door petition against the development.

Local ward member Coun Bernard Regan has had to declare a personal interest in the planning proceedings, as his home in Burton is in direct line of sight of the proposed turbines

Coun Regan said: “I am taking the view of the majority of people who elected me. As an environmentalist I am in favour of windfarms, but I am looking very closely at what the residents want.”

Wind Prospects Developments wants to build seven turbines, spread over 500 acres of farm land at Flixborough Grange, near Burton and Flixborough.

The turbines, standing on 80-metre towers, would be capable of producing 14 megawatts of electricity – enough to supply 8,300 homes in the area.

The developers have told North Lincolnshire Council the construction of the windfarm would be completed over a period of nine and 12 months.

They have calculated the investment will avoid the emission of up to 34,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, every year.

In the submission the firm states: “The location of the turbines has been carefully selected in order to ensure they cause the minimal visual impact.”

It claims among the benefits would be diversification in power generation and more security of supply.

The wind farm is expected to have an operational life of 25 years and then the land would be returned to agricultural use.

The company has already hosted an information day at Flixborough village hall and letters have been sent out to more than 1,800 households within a five-kilometre radius of the proposed development.

The site is owned by the family of Sir Reginald Sheffield, who also own Normanby Hall.

Dermot Spurrier, the land agent for the Normanby Estate Company, said: “It seems an ideal place for a wind farm.

“A great deal of thought has gone into fitting it into the landscape. It is a remote spot.”

The date of the planning hearing has not been revealed.

Scunthorpe Telegraph

8 July 2008


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/08/new-windfarm-planned/