March 20, 2013
England

Dorcas Lane Wind Farm would ‘overpower’ houses

BBC News | 20 March 2013 | www.bbc.co.uk

Campaigners against a wind farm planned for Buckinghamshire say the turbines would “overpower” nearby houses.

Aylesbury Vale District Council is due to decide later if Force 9 Energy can erect the 125m high wind turbines at Dorcas Lane, Stoke Hammond.

The firm says it is the “right place” to build because of good wind speed and the existing electricity network.

Residents are concerned the size and noise of the structures will make nearby houses “unpleasant” to live in.

The scheme has been developed in partnership with EDF Energy which would own and operate the wind farm.

Force 9 says the project is expected to produce 26,280 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year, enough to power more than 5,500 homes.

‘Health issues’

Malcolm Newing, from Stop Dorcas Lane Wind Farm, said the proposed site, from which the closest houses are about 800m away, is “inappropriate”.

“They will be so close to people’s houses that they will be overpowering and overbearing, making them unpleasant places to live,” he said.

“There is also increasing evidence that low frequency noise leads to sleep deprivation and and this leads to health issues.”

David Butterworth, director of Force 9, said: “There is an existing electricity network in the area so we have a distribution line in place.

“The wind speed there is also very good.”

He added that people in the closest houses “might just about hear a very, very faint sound” if they were in the garden and the wind was blowing in the right direction.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/03/20/dorcas-lane-wind-farm-would-overpower-houses/