July 29, 2011
Scotland

Auchnagatt man’s turbine noise misery

Ellon Times, www.ellontimes.co.uk 28 July 2011

An Auchnagatt man has appealed for local authority action, after a year and six months of waiting for his complaint against a neighbouring wind farm to be resolved.

Paul Travis lives near wind turbines at Skelmonae. He says that on a windy day the sound of the machines is clearly audible inside his home, making life a misery for himself and wife Irene.

Mr Travis said: “I have never objected to the principle of the turbines: all I want is for the noise issues associated with the turbines to be resolved. For a year and a half we have pursued all the proper channels, only to be asked for repeated sound tests – we’ve had six or seven of them done now.”

The Times visited the house in lightly breezy weather, and the blades were clearly audible outside the house.

“This isn’t a windy day,” said Paul. “On a really windy day, you can hear a booming sound indoors.”

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said that Mr Travis could expect to hear from the council’s Environmental Health department soon.

He said: “While we acknowledge this matter is taking some time to resolve, it has been necessary to gather multiple noise assessments, the latest of which we have just received. We are currently awaiting additional information from the turbine operator before deciding the most appropriate steps to take.

“We appreciate the concerns raised and have tried to keep interested parties informed throughout, and in due course will inform them of the outcome.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/07/29/auchnagatt-mans-turbine-noise-misery/