March 2, 2011
England

Residents fear wind turbine could damage their village

www.thisiscornwall.co.uk 2 March 2011

People in Golant fear a wind turbine could spoil the character of their picturesque village which sits in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

A public meeting has been called to discuss the planning application from Debbie and Simon Andrews, at South Torfrey Farm, for a 113ft-high wind turbine, to be located on the summit of the hill behind Golant.

Members of the public were due to have their say on the proposal at a meeting last night in the village hall in Golant.

Resident Barry Campbell-Taylor said: “Villagers are concerned as the massive structure will dominate the area, be visible for many, many miles around, and will have an adverse effect on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Personally, I am astonished that this application has been allowed to even get to this stage – all the national and county guidelines suggest that an area, designated as having outstanding natural beauty, should have protection – with priority given to the preservation of the unspoiled landscape.”

Stuart Young, 70, has lived in Golant since 1994 and has been visiting the area for 40 years. He said: “I will be objecting to the application. It falls into the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it will be visible from the whole of the area and will dominate the Fowey estuary. The estuary relies on tourism and it would detract from the beauty of the area.”

Mr Young said he didn’t think a wind turbine would benefit people except the landowner. He said he would be asking the parish council to represent the views of parishioners at a Cornwall Council planning committee meeting.

Mr and Mrs Andrews have spent 18 months and hundreds of pounds researching the proposal before they submitted the plans for the turbine which will feed the National Grid.

The plans incorporate a visual impact assessment, a noise impact assessment and an assessment of shadow flicker.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/03/02/residents-fear-wind-turbine-could-damage-their-village/