August 20, 2010
England

1,000 letters of objection to wind farm

Western Gazette, www.thisisdorset.co.uk 20 August 2010

Around 1,000 letters of objection to the Silton wind farm plan have been received by North Dorset District Council.

The council said that it was impossible to give an exact number, but communications officer Peter Hyde said on Tuesday that the running tally was in the region of 1,000.

The plan, submitted by energy firm Ecotricity, is for four 120-metre high turbines in the Blackmore Vale.

The district council has also announced that the period for public consultation on the controversial application has been extended until Wednesday, September 15.

Mr Hyde said: “At the moment, the number of letters against the Silton plans is at about the 1,000 mark. They are coming in daily in droves and we are getting about 60 e-mails about the plan every day.

“The usual period within which we have to have decide a planning application is 16 weeks. That would take us to October 29, but this application is far from usual and I can see the period getting extended beyond that.”

The plans are a reduced version of a proposal for a six-turbine wind farm at the same location, which was rejected by councillors in July 2009.

Ian Barter, secretary of the Save our Silton protest group, said the weight of response was encouraging. He said: “We are pleased that the consultation period has been extended, but we still do not feel it is long enough.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/08/20/1000-letters-of-objection-to-wind-farm/