April 12, 2012
England

Wind turbine behind Teesside Crematorium given go-ahead

by Laura Woodcock, Evening Gazette, www.gazettelive.co.uk 12 April 2012

A bid to install a £46,000 wind turbine behind Teesside Crematorium has been given the go-ahead.

Middlesbrough Council’s planning committee has approved plans for the construction of a turbine which will reach heights of 19.8m (65ft).

The controversial turbine will sit on a 15m (50ft) mast near the Acklam cemetery site and will feed into the National Grid – providing an estimated annual income of more than £8,000 to the authority.

The scheme is reminiscent of a larger £70,000 mast which was rejected at the site last June. That reached a total height of 25m (82ft).

It was decided unanimously that the turbine would be an intrusion into the open countryside – much to the joy of residents who opposed the application.

At a planning committee meeting last week, members were again faced with opposing views – and heard comments from one local resident who said the visual impact of the turbine “has been greatly misrepresented”.

The man also commented that the power harvested had been over-estimated, that consideration had not been given to all affected parties, and that there was a “lack of safety consideration. The mast will create a hazard to pupils using the adjacent playing field by way of shadow flicker and noise,” he said.

The council says the turbine would cost £46,000 to install and estimates its annual income would be £8,367.

A spokesman said savings on the electricity bill would depend on when the wind and the demand for power.

When giving its reasons for approval – which comes with conditions – the planning and development committee noted that “the turbine will contribute to reducing the causes and impacts of climate change”.

It was also said that turbines “are designed so that their appearance is complementary to the surrounding area and so that they will not have a detrimental impact on the amenity of any adjoining or nearby residents”.

The committee concluded: “The application is therefore considered to be an acceptable form of development fully in accordance with the relevant policy guidance”. It said there were no material considerations for refusal.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/12/wind-turbine-behind-teesside-crematorium-given-go-ahead/