January 10, 2013
England
England
First a blimp, now a chopper: Wind turbine opponents hire £1,000 helicopter to hover above Vale as plans are recommended for refusal
The Bucks Herald | 10 January 2013 | www.bucksherald.co.uk
The Bucks Herald | 10 January 2013 | www.bucksherald.co.uk
A 101m wind turbine near Aylesbury has been recommended for rejection by council officers – as opponents plan to hover a helicopter high in the Bucks skies.
Aylesbury Vale District Council’s development control committee will vote on the plan next week, but the case officer says it should be turned down because of the visual impact it would have on the area.
But before this happens, opponents have paid nearly £1,000 for a helicopter to hover 101m above the ground near the proposed Ford site for one hour tomorrow (Friday). Campaigners are doing it so they can take photos to demonstrate where the turbine could be seen from if built.
It comes a week after a balloon hovering 101m above Ford was blown away just hours into a three-day protest. There have been no sightings of the blimp since.
In his report due to go before councillors next Thursday (January 17), Bill Nicholson says as the turbine would be in a flat area it would be a ‘significant’ and ‘dominant’ presence in public view to and from the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The report says the turbine ‘would have a detrimental impact on its setting such that its natural beauty and landscape qualities would be neither conserved nor enhanced’.
Opponents of the scheme say it would be an eyesore, create noise pollution and not generate enough electricity to make it worthwhile.
But Jeremy Elgin, who wants to build the structure at his farm, says the noise would be minimal and that it would power 350 homes.