July 27, 2013
England

Wind turbine campaigners sense victory after airport objection

Andy Walker, Chief Reporter (Darlington) | Darlington & Stockton Times | 26th July 2013 | www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk

Campaigners fighting plans for a wind turbine in a remote location say they have moved a step closer to victory after fresh objections were lodged.

Durham Tees Valley Airport this week lodged a ‘holding objection’ to plans for a 29-metre turbine at Leggs Cross Farm, in Bolam, near Darlington.

In a letter to the planning authority, Darlington Borough Council, the airport’s strategic planning director Peter Nears said the turbine was likely to show up on radar systems.

He wrote: “This effect can be highly distracting for a controller and can cause confusion when trying to distinguish between real aircraft and false targets.

“Wind turbines provide significant clutter and make it difficult to provide an unrestricted traffic information and/or de-confliction service.

“As a result, the safe operation of the airport could be compromised and [we therefore wish] to submit a holding objection on this proposal while the possibility of applying mitigation is considered.”

The Ministry of Defence is also objecting to the proposal, on the grounds that it will cause “unacceptable interference” to the air traffic control radar at RAF Leeming.

Several battles over windfarms in Bolam have been fought in recent years.

Last year, plans for a 47-metre turbine at the Leggs Cross were withdrawn. The plans currently on the table have seen the height of the turbine reduced from 40 metres to 29.

Members of the Bolam Area Action Group also spent 18 months fighting plans for seven 125-metre turbines in the area.

And several letters of objection have been received from local residents.

The application is not on the agenda for the council’s planning committee meeting on Wednesday (July 31) and may be determined under powers delegated to planning officers.

No one from York-based AAH Planning Consultants, which is acting on behalf of the applicant, was available for comment on the latest objections.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/07/27/wind-turbine-campaigners-sense-victory-after-airport-objection/