June 6, 2012
England

‘Wind turbines will hit the pockets of home owners’

By Jenny Moody, www.uttoxeter-news.co.uk 6 June 2012

A group set up to battle a giant wind turbine in Uttoxeter said at its latest meeting that nearby houses will decrease in value and get no free electricity.

The Uttoxeter Wind Turbine Action Group (UWTAG) met last week to discuss the latest developments with the proposed 285ft (87m) turbine, on Uttoxeter Quarry, in Spath.

They revealed many residents still believed they would be getting free electricity despite Aggregates’ Industries, which is behind the controversial turbine, stating it will supply electricity to quarry operations and any surplus will be sent to other Aggregate sites across the UK.

The group also raised the point that the siting of the turbine is likely to have a detrimental effect on property prices in the area.

Group member Liz Howe said: “General discussions on wind farms usually include noise, flicker, dead birds, ice throw, fires, discontented cows etc for those living nearby.

“The big corporations who are planning them look at how much money wind turbines could bring to their pockets. What is often missed is how much money could be lost long term.

“Properties near an industrial wind turbine generally lose 20 per cent to 30 per cent of their values or, in the worst case, are rendered unsaleable.

“However, damage to property values is not a valid planning objection and there is no compensation for loss in the UK unlike Danish victims of turbine blight.

“If you have purchased a home in a quiet rural town, like Uttoxeter, with beautiful views over the Dove Valley and beyond, would you still pay the same price if you could see and hear a massive wind turbine in the middle of it? “Denmark has a compensation scheme for home owners who suffer a loss of property value caused by wind turbines, showing that if there was no such problem then there would not be a scheme and here in the UK it is already known that property values are reduced by electricity pylons due to their size and constant buzzing and humming, which is much quieter than the sounds projected to come from the turbines.

“Research shows there has already been significant property value reduction associated with wind turbines.

“However, property devaluation is not a planning matter as far as the wind turbines are concerned, and will not be taken into account.

“UWTAG is hoping this information should provide further motivation for objecting to this wind turbine on other legitimate points.

“We have a right to object. Objections will be needed by the planning committee as soon as the application has been received.

“We would ask don’t leave it to someone else. Don’t leave it until it is too late.” A planning application for the turbine has not yet been submitted but those wishing to express their opinion can write to Tim Claxton, Aggregate Industries, Bardon Hall, Copt Oak Road, Markfield, Leicestershire, LE67 9PJ

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/06/wind-turbines-will-hit-the-pockets-of-home-owners/