February 20, 2012
England

Wind farm a destruction of rural spot, campaigners argue

www.warwickcourier.co.u 20 February 2012

The proposed Starbold windfarm in south Warwickshire is not comparable with a four-turbine site in Leicestershire, say campaigners.

Last week the Courier published a feature article about a trip energy firm Broadview organised for villagers who live near the proposed site near Knightcote, Bishops Itchington and other villages, to one of its operational sites, Low Spinney wind farm, in Leicestershire.

The article prompted some of the residents who are opposed to the five-turbine Starbold wind farm – being put forward by Broadview – to expand on their concerns.

Dr Bryan Todd, who used to live near the site and is a frequent visitor to Burton Dassett Country Park, said: “When you visit a wind farm during the day, you cannot hear anything.

“When they cause noise, it gerenally is at night because the atmospheric conditions change – particularly in the summer, which is just the time when people want to sleep with their windows open.

“The atmopshere becomes stable and the various layers of air travel at different speeds.

“Near the ground, the air is moving very slowly, but as you move up, the wind speed increases. That’s the cause of the thumping noise that some turbines make at night.”

Chris Kettle, chairman of Bishops Itchington parish council, pointed out that Broadview had only held public exhibitions about its plans in Knightcote and not in Bishops Itchington, which is also close to the proposed site and is a much bigger village.

Cllr Kettle also said Bishops Itchington parish council had not received any written correspondence from the company.

He said: “A lot of people who might have gone to the public exhibitions were not able to because they may not have known and there is no parking at Knightcote village hall. Bishops Itchington is ten times bigger than Knightcote. There seems to be something slightly wrong there.

“If they are serious about giving us a community fund, who are they talking to?”

He added: “It’s a valley here surrounded by hills. That’s why they need to put very high turbines so they can catch the wind.

“Should we be funding the development of non-viable sites, or should we be looking at renewable technology that gives a better result?”

John Bolton, who lives near the village, added: “This is the worst destruction of the landscape here since the clearances of the late 1800s.

“Those hills tell us the history of the Warwickshire people and that story will be destroyed by this conglomeration.”

A spokeswoman for Broadview said: “We sent invitations out to more than 4,000 residents within a four-mile radius of the site.

“This included homes in Bishops Itchington and in addition, letters were sent to the parish council on the November 18 last year and again on the November 21, which were accompanied by posters advertising the public exhibition for display on parish notice boards and other suitable information points in the area.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/02/20/wind-farm-a-destruction-of-rural-spot-campaigners-argue/