October 18, 2011
England

‘No stopping’ wind turbine that will tower over area

Andrew Dickens, www.cambridge-news.co.uk 18 October 2011

Campaigners say a planned 87-metre wind turbine near Huntingdon will blight the area.

The Waste Recycling Group (WRG) has submitted an application to Huntingdonshire District Council to erect a 500kw wind turbine at its Buckden landfill site in Brampton Road.

It would be taller than Ely Cathedral and King’s College Chapel in Cambridge.

The 500kw turbine would have a maximum height of 87 metres to the tip of the blades, annually producing enough electricity to power the equivalent of around 300 homes.

Anti-wind farm campaigner Bev Gray branded the plans “intensely sad” and claimed they would have a huge impact on the landscape.

The chairman of Cotton Farm Action Group said: “Although not as tall as others, 87 metres is still huge and it is going to have a significant impact on the landscape of the area.

“Buckden is a very historical town and to have a structure of this size will simply not fit in.

“Sadly, I am not surprised that the application has gone in as the district council cannot refuse them due to their wind power special planning document, which is now enforced.

“Once developers know about an area where there is wind farm potential, these individual turbines go up to fill in the gaps. It is a very sad circumstance.”

The proposal joins a number of recently-submitted applications across Huntingdonshire, including those in Molesworth, Kimbolton, Grafham Water, the Cotton Farm and Woolley Hill sites near Huntingdon and a host of proposals outside Ramsey.

Plans for a 70-metre wind monitoring mast were also put forward to the district council in September.

But news of the latest wind turbine project came as a surprise to Buckden Parish Council.

John Chase, parish council clerk, said: “It is the first councillors have heard of it. However, we are not prepared to comment until the next council meeting.”

Mike Snell, head of external affairs at WRG, said: “WRG is constantly looking for new opportunities to make a positive contribution to UK green energy infrastructure and support the UK in meeting its international commitments to renewable energy and climate change.

“We have a unique opportunity to make the most of our existing landholding by generating renewable energy and thereby maximising environmental benefit.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/10/18/no-stopping-wind-turbine-that-will-tower-over-area/