August 26, 2011
England

Wind farm: Fenland Council approves new turbines

BBC News, www.bbc.co.uk 25 August 2011

Plans to expand a wind farm in Cambridgeshire have been approved by Fenland District Council.

Members granted planning consent for six more turbines at Glassmoor Bank between Whittlesey and Ramsey, despite opposition from both town councils.

The district council’s planning committee approved the development, subject to 22 conditions.

Work is expected to begin towards the end of this year with the turbines up and running by the end of 2012.

The turbines will measure 100m (328ft) to their tips of their blades.

‘Really disappointing’

Martin Curtis, a Conservative town, district and county councillor for Whittlesey, opposed the development.

“I must admit it doesn’t surprise me,” he said.

“I think there were some difficulties with national planning legislation which made it very difficult to say no, but I think it’s really disappointing, not just for Whittlesey but for Fenland as a whole.

“What the people that have contacted me say is they don’t mind the wind turbines so much, but they do have an issue with the number we have got in Fenland and the fact that they are starting to become the landscape rather than be part of it.”

John Dupre, of developer Wind Direct, said: “I’m very pleased that the councillors have decided to approve this scheme.

“By using an existing site we will be able to build on the success of the existing wind farm while at the same time minimising the impact on local communities and the natural environment.”

He said the additional turbines would produce about 27,000MWh of electricity, the same amount consumed by about 6,400 homes.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/08/26/wind-farm-fenland-council-approves-new-turbines/