April 11, 2011
England

Relief for action group as wind farm is rejected

By Jon Owen, Uttoxeter Post & Times, www.thisisuttoxeter.co.uk 11 April 2011By Jon Owen, Uttoxeter Post & Times, www.thisisuttoxeter.co.uk 11 April 2011

Villagers have won their 11-year battle after plans for a wind farm were thrown out.

SSE Renewables submitted plans to build eight, 360ft turbines at Bagots Park, in Abbots Bromley.

But the project came under fire from villagers, who created the Abbots Bromley and Marchington Woodlands Wind Farm Action Group in opposition to the plans in 2000.

Protesters can now breathe a sigh of relief after the plans were rejected at a planning meeting at East Staffordshire Borough Council last week.

Abbots Bromley Parish Council chairman Roger Jarman said: “The main feeling from residents is one of relief.

“I am very pleased for all the residents close by whose lives would have been blighted if this had been allowed to go ahead.

“It also didn’t seem feasible for the wind farm to be built where there isn’t a great deal of wind speed.

“There would have been a lot of permanent pain for very little gain, and certainly none for the residents of Abbots Bromley.

“I don’t know the economics of it, but this always seemed a non-starter. It is also very encouraging that the planning officers did an extremely thorough job once the application was submitted.”

Last month, SSE said the turbines were needed to help meet a Government target of generating 15 per cent of all the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020, equating to around 35 to 45 per cent of electricity.

Mr Jarman added: “The general feel was that we aren’t against wind farms, but are against them being built in unsuitable locations.

East Staffordshire Borough Council leader Robert Hardwick has protested against the plans from the outset.

Mr Hardwick said: “I am pleased for the residents now the plans have been rejected.

“It has been rumbling on for over a decade now, and residents can now feel relieved it has been rejected.”

Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths attended the meeting. He said: “The proposal not only fails to meet a number of important regulations and guidelines, it would also have a dramatic impact on some of Staffordshire’s most beautiful countryside.”

It said the wind farm could have generated enough power for at least 11,500 homes.