June 29, 2012
England

‘Rising costs won’t blow Burnham wind farm plan off course’ – developer

www.burnham-on-sea.com 28 June 2012

Multi-million pound proposals for a controversial new wind farm near Burnham-On-Sea will be formally submitted to planners over the next few weeks, quashing rumours that the scheme is about to be shelved due to rising costs and delays.

Wind farm developer Broadview told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week that it is finalising its planning application for four 130 metre wind turbines, each as tall as Brent Knoll, on land south of Rooksbridge near to the M5 motorway.

Olly Buck, Broadview’s Development Manager, admitted that the project is running several months behind schedule and that costs have increased, but he said that the work has been delayed to “ensure the environmental assessments are thorough and robust”.

He added: “Delays with large, complex infrastructure projects like this are not uncommon.”

He denied rumours circulating among some residents that the delay and cost has prompted Broadview to consider pulling out of the scheme.

“We are certainly not pulling out of this location,” he said. “We have invested in the programme and our assessments show the site is suitable for a wind farm. Any talk of us withdrawing is nothing but rumour.”

“Our pllanning application is not far away. It’s almost complete and is just a few weeks away from completion.”

Mr Buck also denied that the firm is considering scaling back the size of the development to make it less obtrusive. “There is no plan for this at this stage – we have put forward the most appropriate plans for the site and have finalised our design.”

The contentious scheme – which was initially due to be submitted to Sedgemoor District Council in January – has attracted strong opposition from local residents and a campaign group, No Pilrow, has put up a strong fight against the scheme.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/29/rising-costs-wont-blow-burnham-wind-farm-plan-off-course-developer/