November 29, 2011
England

Helicopter flight to give wind farm protest a lift

Andrew Dickens, www.cambridge-news.co.uk 29 November 2011

Wind farm protesters will fly a helicopter above a site earmarked for development on Saturday.

Members of the newly-established Stop Common Barn Wind Farm action group are taking their first course of action by flying above Common Barn in Southoe, near St Neots.

Developers TCI Renewables are already in talks to submit plans for three turbines with a maximum height of 126 metres.

Plans for a 70-metre-high wind monitoring mast were also submitted in September.

Now the action group will fly to the exact height of the proposed turbines to “assess the visual impact of the development”.

Campaigner and Southoe resident Sandro Proietti said: “One of our first objectives is to ascertain the visual impact the turbines will have on our beautiful landscape.

“We have to understand what this could do to our area and we have to raise awareness of what we are trying to achieve.

“On Saturday, we will be flying a helicopter above the proposed location and taking photographs from within the helicopter and at various locations from ground level up to the helicopter.

“It is completely unacceptable for the developers to even consider building here. I am sure most of the people in the country, and indeed in our campaign group, are all for renewable energy, but to build it with such enormity is not on.”

TCI Renewables have said that the proposed development could generate enough electricity to supply almost 4,000 households in the surrounding villages of Southoe, Hail Weston, Great Staughton, Perry, Grafham, Buckden, Great Paxton and Little Paxton.

But the action group is concerned about falling house prices and the possibility of a decline in the number of rare birds living at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve and Grafham Water.

The helicopter will take to the air at 1.30pm and the flight should last for about 15 minutes.

For more information about the campaign visit: www.stopcommonbarnwindfarm.com.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/11/29/helicopter-flight-to-give-wind-farm-protest-a-lift/