November 14, 2011
England

Rutland residents vow to fight against wind farm appeal

Rutland Times, www.rutland-times.co.uk 14 November 2011

People who object to proposals for a temporary mast at a planned wind farm site say they will continue to fight an appeal.

SSE Renewables has announced that it has appealed to the Planning Inspectorate after Rutland County Council’s development control committee refused an application to build an 80m high mast on land near Woolfox Airfield in May.

The mast would be in place for up to two years to measure wind speeds before it was decided whether a plan for 22 130m high wind turbines on the old airfield between Stretton, Clipsham and Pickworth was viable.

But residents who previously objected to the plans said they would continue to oppose the appeal.

Miles Williamson-Noble, a member of the Stretton, Clipsham and Pickworth Woolfox Steering Group, said: “We are not greatly surprised to hear about the appeal. We will continue to oppose it as our original objections stand, including the visual impact.”

SSE Renewables said it had been reviewing the decision since May and had put together a series of photomontages to try to address some of the committee’s concerns. The photomontages show how the mast would look.

Project manager at SSE Renewables Bruce Caldwell said: “The initial planning officer’s report had highlighted the “slender nature” of the meteorological mast and we hope the extra work we have carried out now demonstrates this more accurately and responds to the concerns members had.

“In the meantime, we have been continuing to carry out further environmental investigations in and around the former Woolfox Airfield to test the suitability of the area for hosting a wind farm, as well as reviewing the comments received at our public consultation.”

A public consultation event will be held in the new year.

Prior to the refusal, planning officers had recommended the mast be approved. But councillors cited policy grounds and the impact on the landscape and character of the area as their grounds for turning it down.

To view the photomontages visit www.sse.com/woolfox.

REG Windpower will also hold two public exhibitions on Friday and Saturday, November 18 and 19, into plans to install two wind turbines in Steadfold Lane, Ketton, to the east of Hanson Cement.

Go to www.steadfoldlanewindfarm.co.uk for more information.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/14/rutland-residents-vow-to-fight-against-wind-farm-appeal/