October 18, 2012
Wales

Anglesey wind turbine applications face mounting opposition

Published by: Michael Williams | 18 October 2012 | North Wales Chronicle | www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk

A petition opposing wind turbines on Anglesey has been signed by more than a tenth of the Island’s population.

Almost 8,000 people signed the petition calling for a ban on wind turbines in Anglesey’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and a 1.5km buffer zone between commercial turbines and homes on the island.

The petition, put together by opposition group Anglesey Against Wind Turbines (AAWT), was presented to Anglesey council on Thursday.

AAWT member Paul Madden said: “The council has a duty to respect the wishes of its citizens, where planning is concerned.

“No-one wants the island to become a giant wind farm by default. Allow commercial turbines to be shoved up across the island and that’s what you’d get.”

The petition was launched in response to the council’s second consultation on its Supplementary Planning Guidance for onshore windfarms, which uses a sliding distance scale based on the height of the turbines.

There are 29 applications being considered for wind turbines on the island, ranging from 17.5m to 78m in height.

AAWT member Mairede Thomas wrote the group’s official response to the current SPG.

She said: “What’s acceptable to the community on Anglesey can’t be clearer.

“The council and its officers cannot afford to ignore what residents want. Residents don’t want planning guidelines loosened for wind turbines, if anything they want them tightened.”

AAWT define a commercial wind turbine as a turbine that is not used for any single domestic residence, and generates surplus energy for profit.

The guidlines set out in the petition would effectively prevent any such industrial sized wind turbine from being built on the Island.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/10/18/anglesey-wind-turbine-applications-face-mounting-opposition/