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Council leader voices his concerns on wind turbine
Credit: By Jenny Moody, www.uttoxeter-news.co.uk 18 April 2012 ~~
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A county leader is the latest to voice concerns over proposals for a giant wind turbine near Uttoxeter as residents continue to register their anger.
Councillor Philip Atkins (pictured), leader of Staffordshire County Council, has written to Tim Claxton, senior estate surveyor of Aggregates Industries, about plans for an 87m (285ft) wind turbine at Uttoxeter Quarry, in Spath.
Aggregates Industries and PowerWind Projects are currently preparing a planning application, expected to be submitted shortly, for the device, which is almost as high as London’s Big Ben clock tower.
The company had previously promised this land would be restored after the quarrying had been completed with places suitable for agriculture, water areas, a nature reserve and a place for recreation.
Councillor Atkins’ letter states: “I must raise serious concerns about the impact that such an installation will have on the town of Uttoxeter and the river valley and its surrounds.
“The proposed turbine is very close to homes and businesses and will also blight the natural landscape. This will inevitably have a detrimental impact on Uttoxeter and on the wider tourist industry.
“I understood that the site was to be reinstated to a natural environment with opportunities for tourism and leisure use to be decided at a later date and this installation would preclude this.”
Mr Claxton has previously told The Advertiser the plans for the wind turbine were in the consultation stage and said plans to restore Uttoxeter Quarry still included transforming it for recreational and leisure uses.
However, it has not eased the fears of residents and a meeting is to be held tomorrow night at 7.30pm at Stramshall Village Hall to discuss the proposal.
It has been organised by Uttoxeter Rural Parish Council, which states the life of the device is 25 years, so the council is assuming Aggregate Industries will want to continue quarrying until 2038 and the turbine will be replaced with a bigger one after that time.
The parish council said: “This turbine would dominate the landscape across a huge area. Our lovely surroundings are in danger of being ruined forever.
“Aggregates Industries is proposing to place this monstrosity just yards from our homes and we will be the ones paying for it.
“For such projects massive amounts of the income produced to make this possible will be coming from a levy on our personal electricity bills.”
Uttoxeter MP Andrew Griffiths has also been outspoken against the plans stating Aggregates is “sticking two fingers up to the good will and the generosity of the community”.
The Conservative plans to launch a petition to highlight the concerns, which he hopes will be signed by thousands of people.
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