July 15, 2013
England

Windfarm ‘will be blight on rural area for years’

Yorkshire Post | 15 July 2013 | www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Eight parish councils, an MEP and an MP are objecting to plans for six more massive turbines “which would blight the area for a generation”.

RWE npower renewables wants to build the six near Welham Bridge, Holme upon Spalding Moor, just over a mile from where two 125m high turbines are proposed, and two miles from Spaldington Airfield where five 126m high turbines have been approved.

It is five miles from the 10 “unmissable” turbines at Sixpenny Wood, which were approved on appeal, and seven miles from the dozen-strong farm at Rusholme Grange.

Holme upon Spalding Moor parish council says “if passed the wind farm would be a horrendous blight on the area and coupled with the already approved wind farm at Spaldington the cumulative impact would spoil this important area for a generation or two.”

Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis said “it would place Spaldington at the centre of a huge wind farm” and was a “gross overdevelopment.”

Hopes that the Government is changing tack rose following the recent announcement by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles that local communities would be given “a greater say on planning, to give greater weight to the protection of the landscape, heritage and local amenity.”

But planners recommend approval at a meeting on Thursday, claiming the cumulative impact is not “significant” because of the separation between farms.

They also say central Government continues to show “strong support.”

Anti-wind farm camapigners are hoping an inspector will refuse an appeal by developers over the proposed Thornholme windfarm, close to Burton Agnes Hall, near Bridlington.

A public inquiry is due to start on July 23.

But MEP Godfrey Bloom said Mr Pickles’ statement was “meaningless propaganda” and he expected inspectors to continue allowing appeals, as they had in the case of Spaldington Airfield and Sixpenny Wood.

He said: “The unelected bueaucrat in Bristol will continue to uphold appeals, except maybe where there is some politics, some local specific dynamic going on, as he has consistently done for the last 10 years.

“I have some sympathy for him – he has to go on upholding appeals otherwise we can’t meet the ludicrous target of 40,000 of these turbines (for the UK). Meanwhile energy bills are going up exponentially.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/07/15/windfarm-will-be-blight-on-rural-area-for-years/