July 15, 2008
England, Letters

Wind farm objectors vindicated over noise

Your headline “Fight against turbines gets legal go-ahead” (July 10) was not only welcome news for Den Brook Valley, but almost a situation whereby RES, the developers should be congratulated on having admitted that noise is a real issue.

How strange it is, after 18 years of non-stop applications and total denial that noise is a problem, that wind farm opponents are being proved correct in their own peer-reviewed papers and research results.

When a joint meeting of Restormel and North Cornwall Councils with the public before the development of Bears Down wind farm was held, the health and safety officers and NWP were adamant there would be “no noise problems whatsoever” and that they could wave magic wands and solve anything.

This is one of the wind farms the DTI (now BERR) with selected acousticians, (who work for both sides providing there is money in it) chose to stay clear of, probably knowing it is a problem for local residents, and then proceeded to come up with fanciful reports to cover their own backs.

In the Den Brook article, it states “Rachel Ruffle of RES said “we took great care to design the wind farm so that it would not be a noise nuisance”. So there we have it; they know problems arise over and over again, but if they think they can design a wind farm without problems, it will probably have to be put underground.

It is ironic that EON has just scrapped wind farm plans at Ferndown in Scotland due to expected noise problems. Are they all suddenly being honest? I doubt it; more like running out of money now that the truth about noise and health is reaching the top of the agenda.

Alan J Nunn

St Austell

Western Morning News

15 July 2008


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/07/15/wind-farm-objectors-vindicated-over-noise/