November 5, 2011
England

Polegate turbines will be twice as high as this!

Eastbourne Herald, www.eastbourneherald.co.uk 5 November 2011

Polegate’s proposed wind turbines will be nearly twice the size of the one at Glynde and almost as tall as the London Eye.

A planning application for the Shepham Windfarm was submitted to Wealden District Council last month.

Galliford Try Renewables (GTR) wants to install five turbines standing 415 feet tall on land north of the A27, either side of Shepham Lane.

Artists impressions have already shown the turbines will tower the horizon and be visible from many miles around.

The much-opposed turbine which was erected last month to power Glyndbourne Opera House is 230 feet in height – considerably smaller than those proposed for Polegate.

The Polegate turbines, if approved by the council, will be 99 feet higher than Big Ben, 246 feet higher than Nelson’s Column, 355 feet bigger than Stone Cross Wind Mill and 389 feet higher than the average sized house which measure at around 26 feet high.

There is opposition to the proposed Shepham Wind Farm and a campaign group formed by local residents has been set up.

Size seems to be one of the main concerns.

Joyce Richards, one of the campaigners who lives close to the site, is encouraging residents to write letters of objection to the council.

She says the wind farm will have a visual impact upon the landscape and added, “It is quite out of scale to erect installations that are nearly as large as the London Eye and a great deal taller than the tower for Big Ben in a place so closely hemmed in by a National Park, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and an international wetland famed for its rare bird life.”

Noise and flicker, reflecting light into homes, is also a cause for concern.

Ms Richards added, “If accepted the development is likely to be very damaging to the health and well-being of local people in their own homes, and also to the local economy in loss of tourist and visitor trade.

“Evidence from other countries and from technical studies suggests the range of noise is variable and audible at least up to 2Km.”

However GTR says the wind farm would generate enough clean electricity to power 5,590 to 6,900 homes – which is around the combined number of households in Polegate and Westham. The wind farm would save 11,000 to 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

The plans are currently available to see on the Wealden District Council website, where details on how to make representations are also available. Representations must be made by November 18.

The opposition group has set up a website which can be found at www.stopshephamwindfarm.co.uk

Westham Parish Council will be discussing the wind farm at its planning meeting on November 14 ahead of Wealden District Council’s final decision which is expected to be made at a meeting on December 8.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/05/polegate-turbines-will-be-twice-as-high-as-this/