April 14, 2011
England

Wainfleet wind mast breaches planning rules alleges windfarm protest group

Skegness Standard, www.skegnessstandard.co.uk 14 April 2011Skegness Standard, www.skegnessstandard.co.uk 14 April 2011

The controversial 80 metre wind mast which was built near Wainfleet is being investigated after an alleged planning application breach.

The anemometer, which was built at the end of March, records wind speeds, direction and turbulence data.

Data collected by the mast will form part of a larger plan to build four turbines at the site.

However, the site is under investigation after allegedly breaking planning regulations by not including bird deflector technology on the guide ropes supporting the mast.

A spokesperson for East Lindsey District Council said: “The district council has been alerted to a potential planning breach. The reported breach is that the bird deflectors that should have been installed on the guide ropes are missing. We are visiting this site this week to check this out.”

The wind farm development has been met with fierce opposition from local action groups who claim it is detrimental to the natural beauty of the land.

Melvin Grosvenor, Vice Chairman for Wainfleet Windfarm Action Group (WWAG) said: “The mast must be taken down if the deflectors are not included. If they haven’t put them on, then there is a serious breach.

“It is a bit ironic, they needed these things on the guide ropes, how the hell are they going to stop birds hitting them with four turbines spinning round.”

As reported in last week’s Standard, developers RWE Npower renewables successfully appealed East Lindsey District Council’s initial refusal of the energy firm’s application to build the anemometer in February.

If built, the wind farm could generate enough energy to meet annual electricity needs of up to 4,900 average households.

However, no planning decisions have yet been made regarding the wind turbines.

Mr Grosvenor has also stated that forming a wind farm proposal at this stage did not give enough time to gather data from the anemometer and argued that it must be taken down if planning has been breached.

He said: “This is very bad as the developers appealed the decision and the inspectorate agreed providing that it included these deflectors. They appear to have ignored the inspectorate. It must be taken down and it shouldn’t stay up a day longer.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/14/wainfleet-wind-mast-breaches-planning-rules-alleges-windfarm-protest-group/