November 3, 2012
England

Council backs minister’s call to halt spread of wind farms

Rutland & Stamford Mercury | 2 November 2012 | www.stamfordmercury.co.uk

A county council has backed a Government minister’s call to end the “invasion” of wind turbines across the countryside.

Energy minister John Hayes, MP for the Deepings, is reported to have said “enough is enough” and that wind turbines should no longer be “imposed” on communities.

On Wednesday Prime Minister David Cameron told MPs there had been no change to Government policy and plans to build onshore and offshore wind farms would still go ahead.

But executive member for environment services at Lincolnshire County Council, coun Eddy Poll (Con), said: “It’s heartening to have a senior minister so tune in with what people think.

“This is an issue the county council has been concerned about for some time.

“We’re not calling for a blanket ban on wind farms. We have a duty to protect the environment and are in favour of renewable energy.

“However, there’s been an invasion of wind farms across Lincolnshire in recent years, and we can’t ignore the impact this is having.

“We need to make sure we balance our need for green energy against inappropriate developments that ruin the environment we’re trying to protect.

“Wind energy is unreliable and costly. For that reason, we want to raise the bar even higher for anyone wanting to construct a wind farm in the county.

“To that end, we’ll be carrying out a public consultation towards the end of the year with a view to making our position an official council policy.”

The Mercury contacted Mr Hayes to confirm his comments, which were reported in national newspapers.

It is understood the remarks were contained in a draft of a speech he had intended to give on Tuesday night.

Mr Hayes did not respond to the Mercury’s inquiries at the time of going to press.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/11/03/council-backs-ministers-call-to-halt-spread-of-wind-farms/