March 22, 2011
England

Protesters try to blow the wind out of Purbeck farm

By Jim Durkin, Daily Echo, www.bournemouthecho.co.uk 21 March 2011

Angry residents, fiercely opposed to a four-turbine wind farm in the Purbeck countryside, have gathered in a show of defiance.

Around 60 people, including members of the Purbeck Campaign to Protect Rural England and Dorset Against Rural Turbines, met at Stokeford’s Primrose Farm on Saturday.

They brought along placards calling for Purbeck District Council to refuse plans for the 125-metre turbines, and even flew a blimp to show how high the turbines will be.

District councillors have already agreed they are minded to approve permission for the Alaska Wind Farm, at Master’s Quarry, East Stoke.

However, following the wave of public interest in the scheme, they decided to impose a string of conditions – including noise restraints – on developers Infinergy.

District planners will finally rule on the wind farm at a crunch meeting which takes place on March 31.

Speaking to the Daily Echo at the demonstration, Purbeck CPRE chairman Terry Stewart said: “The purpose of this demonstration is to express the strong feeling from so many residents in Purbeck to the desecration of this beautiful landscape.

“At the last council planning meeting there was a big green invasion, but many of these people were not locals.

“It is very much all to play for still on March 31.”

Meanwhile, Infinergy boss Herbert Lindlahr remains confident of meeting the “tough conditions” imposed by district officials.

An Infinergy spokesman said: “A big red balloon at a height we can only guess, on a different location than the actual wind turbine locations, is not representative of what the Alaska Wind Farm turbines would look like.

“Our met mast has been up for three years so people will have an understanding of how high the turbine tower would be.”

Of the 723 responses to the district council over the planning application, 544 were in favour of the wind farm bid, with just 179 against.

But a petition against the farm with 1,100 signatures was also lodged with the council.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/03/22/protesters-try-to-blow-the-wind-out-of-purbeck-farm/