February 5, 2011
England

Campaigns against wind turbines send out clear message: We don’t want anymore in Fenland

GAVIN CANEY, Reporter, Cambs Times, www.cambstimes.co.uk 4 February 2011

Campaigners against wind turbines sent out a defiant message today that they’ll do everything in their power to prevent anymore being built in Fenland.

Fenland Residents Against Wind Turbines (FenRATS) staged a brief and peaceful protest outside the Wisbech Boathouse this afternoon. They waved placards to show their feelings and build momentum ahead of a number of other planned demonstrations.

A 10-day public inquiry is currently being held at the Boathouse about Fenland District Council’s decision to refuse permission for two new wind farms to be built in the area.

Ian Edgar, FenRats chairman, said: “Today will hopefully send out a clear message that we will do everything in our power to stop the wind farms from being built.

“This protest show FenRats actively working for the people of Fenland to try and block these monstrosities from being approved. We want to show our support for the council and to make the inquiry aware that the residents of the area don’t want them here.

“They will realise there is a growing force of people who are really against this.”

The inquiry will hear the appeals against the decisions on the two applications for three wind turbines on land north of Burnthouse Farm, Turves, and for nine turbines at Floods Ferry Farm, Staffurths Bridge, March.

Both of the applications, scaled back from 15 to nine and from five to three, were refused by the council in December 2008.

The campaigners are also currently fighting an application for a six-turbine farm at Treading Bank between Gorefield and Sutton St Edmund.

Mr Edgar said he was “delighted” with the turnout on a working day and believed support for the group was growing.

He said: “We’re going to organise more events because around 300 people have already expressed an interest in the group. We hope numbers will continue to grow.

“We protested peacefully to hopefully affect the result of the hearing but not to stop it today. We’ll carry on listening to the cases because we live in a democracy.

“We want the decision to be the right decision and that it’s taken into account what we want – not what the developers want who live hundreds of miles away.

“It takes millions of pounds to get the minimal energy they produce from these wind farms to the cities – why don’t they have them in their own back gardens?

“It’s about time Fenland said no. We’ve done more than enough to house these monstrosities already. We don’t want anymore here.”

The appeals are being made by Fivestone Limited for the Turves application and by Scottish Power renewables (UK) Ltd, for the Floods Ferry turbines.

Both Whittlesey and March Town Councils objected to the applications saying there was “an over intensification of wind farms”.

Wednesday saw opening statements from Fivestone and Scottish Power the two companies who submitted the applications to the council.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/05/campaigns-against-wind-turbines-send-out-clear-message-we-dont-want-anymore-in-fenland/