July 4, 2011
England

Damages claim lodged at High Court over ‘unbearable’ wind turbine noise

Ross Macmillan, www.24dash.com 4 July 2011

A couple are seeking an injunction and damages in the High Court against the owners and operators of a wind farm in Lincolnshire they say drove them from their farmhouse home with its “unbearable” noise.

The tenant farmers blame the “whoom whoom whoom” and the low frequency “hum” of giant turbine blades for their exile in a case being closely watched by the wind farm industry.

The couple moved out of Grays Farm in Deeping St Nicholas, near Spalding, in December 2006 six months after the eight-turbine wind farm began operating about half a mile away from their home.

They say the noise from the 320ft (100m) turbines disrupted their sleep, made them feel ill and became intolerable.

They say it was so severe that it warranted a reduction in council tax and rendered the farmhouse no longer marketable as a family home.

The case is of general importance because hundreds of other families say they have suffered similar disturbance from wind farms up and down the country.

Research suggests the complaints relate to the “amplitude modulation” (AM) of the aerodynamic noise from the turbine blades in certain conditions.

Lawyers for the couple say they are now seeking an injunction to bring about modification of the operation of the wind farm, plus some £400,000 damages to compensate them for the noise nuisance that has blighted their lives.

Peter Harrison QC told Mr Justice Hickinbottom: “Their lives have been wholly disrupted by that noise.” Alternatively they are seeking damages plus a “like for like” replacement for their farm home which they estimate is worth around £2.5 million.

The hearing continues on Tuesday, when the judge is expected to visit the area where the Davis family farms some 300 acres.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/07/04/damages-claim-lodged-at-high-court-over-unbearable-wind-turbine-noise/