May 21, 2012
Scotland

Windfarm plea to new council administration

Fife Today, www.fifetoday.co.uk 21 May 2012

Hopes are high that Fife Council’s new Labour administration will pay heed to mounting opposition to windfarms across Fife.

Anti-windfarm group EFTAG (East Fife Turbine Awareness group) and other more localised groups said they welcomed Labour party comments on renewable energy in its manifesto and are hopeful the party – which has now formed a minority administration with the backing of the Tories – will act on its pledges.

SPECULATIVE

A spokeman for EFTAG said: “Every elected member is aware of the opposition from communities across all of Fife to the torrent of speculative windfarm developments and smaller turbine proposals.

“EFTAG and associated groups in mid and west Fife welcome the thinking behind Labour’s manifesto comments on renewable energy, and we endorse their commitment to initiate an immediate consultation with Fife communities on the future role and location of land based wind turbines in Fife.”

The spokesman said that hopes were high the new adminstration would seek a ministerial meeting to put across Fife’s case and also seek agreement on a moratorium for land based wind turbines until a strategic framework can be put in place following consultation with Fife’s communities

He went on: “In addition, we would ask the new administration to give more resources and support to the planning department which is still stretched to breaking point by the enormous number of applications for industrial turbines.

IMPACT

“Staff are doing the best job they can, but lack the resources to prepare all the information necessary for making recommendations to committee.

“In particular, they do not fully and objectively address the local impact and often go against advice from Scottish Natural Heritage on landscape and visual impact.

“Communities should not have to have 300-400 feet high turbines inflicted on them in close proximity.

“Distance is the only mitigation against noise and visual intrusion.

“The noise guidelines are well out of date and designed for much smaller turbines than are current today.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/05/21/windfarm-plea-to-new-council-administration/