November 25, 2010
England

Victory’s in wind for turbine protest

The Forester, via: findarticles.com 25 November 2010

Residents look set to win a major victory in their long-running fight to stop a giant wind turbine being put up in Lydney.

Independent consultants say Horage Farm is the wrong place for a large turbine because it is too close to homes.

Members of Lydney Area in Partnership, which has spent five years on the project, are expected to agree to look for an alternative site when they meet tonight.

But next month Councillor Alan Preest will urge a meeting of the Forest of Dean District Council to stop the same thing happening elsewhere by bringing in new rules.

He will hand in a petition by Neds Top Residents’ Action Group which has collected more than 450 names.

He said: “I want the council to develop appropriate planning policy guidance which protects areas of high landscape and amenity value and includes minimum distance criteria between wind turbines and sensitive land uses such as residential dwellings, public rights of way and roads.”

In January this year the district council’s development control committee agreed the LAiP could erect a 200ft anemometer mast to test the wind at Horage Farm.

But the decision enraged objectors who complained to the standards committee that former council leader Marion Winship (Ind, Alvington) did not declare that she was a committee member of LAiP when she took part in the debate in January.

She has since apologised but has been censured by the standards committee. Two complaints against councillor Derek Biddle (Ind, Lydney East) are still outstanding.

The campaign group has now called for a thorough external review and evaluation of LAiP.

Joyce Waldegrave, who made the complaint, said: “We are going to request that town and district councils withdraw all representation from LAiP until its governance, transparency and openness are externally reviewed. ” LAiP is intended to exist for the benefit of the community but it is impossible to see what actual public benefit has been achieved or how its agenda in any way represents the aspirations of the community.”

LAiP chairman councillor Derek Biddle (Ind, Lydney East)

dismissed the accusations against the group but said he could not comment until the complaints against him had been dealt with.

He said Green Wind Trust had advised LAiP not to erect a large turbine at Horage Farm.

“That does not stop us putting two smaller ones up but they are not so efficient as one large one,” he said.

“I don’t know what happens next but I know GWT are talking of solar panels and we could be looking at other sites.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/11/25/victorys-in-wind-for-turbine-protest/