July 10, 2012
England

Residents object to proposal for new wind farm

Mid Devon Gazette | www.thisisdevon.co.uk 10 July 2012

A wind farm comprising up to 20 turbines could be built on arable land near Tiverton, amid concerns there has been insufficient consultation with neighbours and information about possible noise nuisance.

An application to site twenty 5KW turbines with a maximum height of 21 metres at Buckhayes Farm, near Cove, has been submitted to Mid Devon District Council.

The application site is within the boundaries of Tiverton and will be discussed by Tiverton Town Council next week, but the farm is closer to Bampton than to Tiverton.

Applicants Quiet Revolution says the turbines could be visible from surrounding areas up to nine miles away. The company claims the risk of “overshadowing” local residences has been minimised by ensuring the closest property to the wind farm is more than 400m from the nearest turbine.

However, an environmental health officer at Mid Devon District Council who was consulted on the plans says more details about the potential noise nuisance of the turbines need to be provided before they can make a recommendation on whether to object to the application.

The Environmental Health department says it would appear the noise report prepared by the applicant has been carried out based on one turbine and does not take into consideration the cumulative effect on noise of the operation of up to 20.

To make a judgement on the impact of noise from the wind turbines on nearby noise sensitive properties, the officer advises that site specific noise survey are required at the proposed site as well as a second background noise level assessment at the two closest properties.

The proposed development would have an installed capacity of 100KW, which could generate electricity equivalent to the annual usage of around 70 Mid Devon homes.

The applicants say they expect HGV traffic would approach the site from the old Tiverton road, running from Bampton to Tiverton.

In a report prepared by the applicant they state: “The site will function with minimal intervention from human operators.”

If planning permission for the scheme is granted, the site would have a lifespan of 25 years. At the end of which, the applicant’s report states “the wind turbines and their ancillary infrastructure will be dismantled” and removed from the site.

In addition to the turbines themselves, the applicants say they will need to allow two substations to enable grid connection.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has raised concerns that a member who lived near the site was not consulted prior to the application’s submission.

The applicant’s report says visits were carried out to residents within a one kilometre radius of the scheme prior to the submission of an application and letters sent to residents within a three kilometre radius.

The district council has received around half a dozen letters of objection to the scheme.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/10/residents-object-to-proposal-for-new-wind-farm/