May 20, 2011
England

Eye favours turbines

Diss Express, www.dissexpress.co.uk 20 May 2011

A key obstacle has been overcome as the area around Eye Airfield prepares to host four 130-metre tall wind turbines.

Eye Town Council recommended approval for the application from Wind Power Renewables for two wind turbines on the side of the runway at Eye Airfield Industrial Estate at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, which saw 20 members of the public in attendance, several of whom expressed support for the application.

The turbines will be 400 metres away from two others which received planning approval from Mid Suffolk District Council – despite Eye Town Council unanimously opposing these proposals, from the Roy Humphrey Group in February 2010.

Three members of the public who made the case for the turbines during Wednesday’s meeting included Peter Seaman, who lives “nearer than anyone” to the airfield and claims that he wouldn’t “see them or hear them”, and Liz Mottram, who didn’t want Eye to be perceived as being full of “Nimby types.”

But councillor Andrew Evitt emphasised that leading scientists have made arguments against wind turbines.

On the potential visual impact of the four turbines, Mr Evitt noted: “The combined height of these four turbines is four and a half times the size of Eye Church, and seven times the size of Yaxley Church.”

Seven councillors voted in favour, with three against and two abstaining.

The local community will receive around £5,000 and £6,800 a year from the Roy Humphrey Group and Wind Power Renewables Project respectively.

While this money would be used for tree planting and to implement local energy saving measures, a further one-off payment of £10,000 from Wind Power Renewables would also be handed over to the community for general expenditure.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/20/eye-favours-turbines/