February 20, 2013
Wales

Wind turbine protesters gather at Ruthin’s County Hall

By Kelly Williams | Feb 20, 2013 | www.dailypost.co.uk

Protesters against the building of two 150ft wind turbines at a beauty spot have gathered outside council offices in Ruthin to show their objection this morning.

Members of STEMM (Stop The Exploitation of Mynydd Mynyllod) are rallying against the proposals earmarked for land at Syrior, Llandrillo near Corwen, which are due to go before Denbighshire Council’s Planning Committee today.

More than 100 people are against the plans, which are recommended for refusal on a number of grounds including the “adverse impact” they would have on the “setting of protected landscaped areas.”

STEMM sent out letters to councillors ahead of the meeting.

A spokeswoman said: “The most important issue is that of visual impact: despite revisions, the application is still misleading. These turbines are 150ft high to blade tip, which makes them 40ft higher than the Llandrillo church spire and, if you are not familiar with Llandrillo, they are only 30ft lower than Ruthin church spire. The true visual impact would be much more significant than the application shows.

“We know that successful planning applications to Denbighshire have used the argument that the landscape was already degraded by existing turbines (eg Gwyddelwern degraded by Wern Ddu) and so visual impact should be disregarded. Where will this stop? There must be a point at which Denbighshire councillors say that there are upland landscapes which, even if they have missed statutory designation, are worth protecting.”

The letter states: “Please decide that the time has come to protect our precious landscape and, at the same time, the visitor economy of which it is such a vital component. Stop these one-off decisions which are leading to the creeping industrialisation of our countryside and to a skyline increasingly punctured by wind factories. Keep the upper Dee Valley as a special landscape.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/02/20/wind-turbine-protesters-gather-at-ruthins-county-hall/