March 16, 2011
England

Mourners at Glynn Valley Crematorium will face giant wind turbine

www.thisiscornwall.co.uk 16 March 2011

Mourners at Cornwall’s main crematorium will be distracted from paying their last respects to loved ones if a giant wind turbine is allowed near the site.

The concerns have been expressed by Dignity Funerals, owners of the Glynn Valley Crematorium.

The company is objecting to a 250ft high turbine planned for Callywith Farm on the outskirts of Bodmin.

Agricultural firm Dingle Brothers wants the turbine to power their liquid waste recycling facility.

The proposal is due to be discussed by a Cornwall Council planning committee tomorrow evening, but there have been objections that the structure will ruin a sensitive area.

Concerns

Cardinham Parish Council, Bodmin Town Council and the Council for the Protection of Rural England are among the organisations joining the crematorium owners in raising concerns.

But one of the firm’s directors, Graham Dingle, said local people were supporting the bid and the report on the application written by a planning officer was seriously flawed.

Simon Hawley, a planning consultant acting for Dignity Funerals, said the Glynn Valley Crematorium was a particularly sensitive site.

“Visitors to the crematorium expect, and require quiet and sympathetic surroundings given the nature of the crematorium,” he said. “There will be a view of the turbine from the main window of the crematorium, distracting from the peaceful environment the crematorium seeks to create.

“The turbine will also adversely affect long views from the Garden of Rest which has a direct line of site to the turbine,” added Mr Hawley.

Cornwall councillor for the area, Mick Martin, said he would be voicing strong objections at the planning meeting tomorrow.

“I can fully understand the feelings of the owners of the crematorium, but if this turbine is allowed, it will ruin the view of the whole valley.

Eyesore

“It will be an eyesore for the whole area. I’m not against renewable energy projects at all, but this is a turbine which is the wrong size and will be in the wrong place.”

Dingle Brothers won planning consent two years ago for a smaller wind turbine to be erected at nearby Steppes Farm. But planning officers have recommended the latest application be refused by councillors on the east planning committee.

Mr Dingle said this week: “If local people had raised objections to the turbine we would have withdrawn the application months ago, but no one has. In fact, we have received support from 100 Cornish businesses. There are a lot of inaccuracies in the report sent to councillors on the planning committee, and we have written to the councillors pointing them out.” He said a pledge to provide £30,000 a year into a fund to benefit local communities was not included in the report.

Mr Dingle said a suggestion by a planning officer that the wind turbine be erected in a different location was not feasible. “If we did that, we would lose 39 per cent of the wind power,” he said.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/03/16/mourners-at-glynn-valley-crematorium-will-face-giant-wind-turbine/