April 6, 2012
England

Colne to become Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to halt wind farm plans

www.pendletoday.co.uk 6 April 2012

Councillors are proposing that green areas of Colne be granted Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status to prevent more wind turbines from popping up across the landscape.

Following Pendle Council’s Colne and District Committee meeting, which saw a number of wind turbine applications come before members, councillors called for action against turbines.

Coun. Tony Greaves said: “The more I look at some of the landscapes in Pendle, particularly in Boulsworth, it astonishes me the landscape is not significantly protected and I think this is something the council ought to be looking at.

“If these areas were being designated now people would be looking very hard at the areas around Laneshaw Bridge and Trawden. Fifty years ago they would have been textile industries with smoke coming out of the mill chimneys but not any more.

“They should be looking very hard and suggesting to Natural England they look to some of these areas and see if they can be re-designated.

“I accept that all areas could not be National Parks but we are very close to having full scale wind farms which will be completely and utterly out of character.”

The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 312sq miles of rural Lancashire and includes Pendle Hill and the villages of Roughlee and Barley.

Coun. Ann Kerrigan said the countryside is going to be “destroyed” by wind turbines and strongly objected to granting planning permission for turbines.

“I am totally against them, if this was the Lake District we would not be able to pass them. When you look out, the countryside is staggeringly beautiful.

“We should be looking at the Local Plan so we cannot destroy our countryside with these monstrosities. The best place for them is out at sea.”

Pendle Council’s planning and building control manager, Neil Watson, said that he will look at raising the issues of making areas AONB.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/06/colne-to-become-area-of-outstanding-natural-beauty-to-halt-wind-farm-plans/