September 22, 2012
England

Winterton ‘unites’ against wind turbine scheme

Scunthorpe Telegraph | www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk 21 September 2012

Almost 200 people attended a meeting to hear councillors unanimously object to plans for a wind farm.

Winterton Town Council saw one of its highest ever attendances for a meeting about plans for three wind turbines.

Developer Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) has plans to put up the turbines at its Ironstone Quarry landfill site near Winterton.

The meeting heard a number of fears voiced by locals about the impact of the proposals.

They said the turbines would be too close to people’s homes and said they would be too noisy.

The town council also said there had been no risk assessment for the plans and said the development would be based on a hazardous waste site.

And the town council discussed the possibility of odours from the landfill site worsening if wind turbines were installed.

Francesca Marritt, mayor of Winterton, said: “All in all we had to ask ourselves if this was a suitable place. The answer is no, it is not. It is too close to people’s homes.

“The town council supports and echoes the views of residents and will continue to vociferously oppose this development.”

The developer had initially proposed putting up four turbines, but has since cut the proposed scheme back to three after a string of criticisms from opponents.

Dr John Robinson, town councillor and chairman of Winterton Against Inappropriate Turbines (WAIT), said at the meeting: “Although they have removed one of the turbines from the plans, the fundamental landscape assessment has not changed.

“The application seems to be littered with inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

“The removal of the top turbine does very little to address the overbearing nature of the three remaining turbines on the homes of people in Winterton.”

The developer says its plans to build near the landfill site, which now sit with North Lincolnshire Council, have been through detailed engineering and environmental studies.

Chris Ratcliffe, senior planning and estates manager at FCC, said: “FCC believes there is a strong case for the proposed wind energy project at our Iron Stone Quarry site which would be sited on solid ground owned by the company and would provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 4,290 homes a year.

“Earlier this year, and in consultation with planning officers at North Lincolnshire Council, we took a decision to reduce our project from four turbines to three, in a move which also reflects the results of feedback received during our public exhibitions carried out in autumn 2010 and spring 2011, which included an event in Winterton.

“The selection of the site as a suitable location for a wind energy development is based on numerous feasibility studies including rigorous technical and environmental assessments undertaken.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/09/22/winterton-unites-against-wind-turbine-scheme/