September 30, 2013
England

MP opposes windfarm off Dorset coast

Dorset Echo | 30th September 2013 | www.dorsetecho.co.uk

South Dorset MP Richard Drax has said the Navitus Bay windfarm would ‘blight’ the Dorset coastline.

Navitus Bay Wind Park development proposes to install up to 218 offshore wind turbines off in a stretch of sea from Purbeck to the Isle of Wight.

Mr Drax attended the final round of public consultations and said it has ‘failed to reassure’ him about the project.

He has written to the developers demanding a change of site and said the majority of people at the meeting were against the windfarm.

Mr Drax said: “I have attended the latest exhibition and read the preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment report.

“Neither makes me feel any better about what will be an eyesore plonked in the middle of our Jurassic Coast.

“This is an UNESCO World Heritage Site the equivalent of putting a wind farm on the Great Barrier Reef.

“Imagine the outcry if they attempted that.”

He added: “In France UNESCO prevented EDF from building two turbines near the Mont St Michel by creating an exclusion zone.

“I have written to UNESCO and am hoping they will do the same for us.

“I simply cannot fathom why they have chosen this location except that it is one of nine possible areas identified by the Crown Estates and is usefully shallow.

“It’s cheaper to erect wind turbines in shallower water.”

Mr Drax said the turbines would ‘blight the whole of the Dorset coastline’ and criticised the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.

He said: “The idea that construction of the wind farm or the action of the turbines themselves can be ‘mitigated’ by putting up posters or constructing a visitor centre is nonsensical.

“How can disruption of a fish spawning bed or a gannet flight path ever be mitigated?

“It is just yet another natural resource lost.

“The whole of the Dorset coastline will be blighted by this if it goes ahead.

“It will affect tourism, sailing, fishing, diving and boating.”

He added: “Every one of our beaches will look out at a forest of turbines.

“That gentle smudge you see on the horizon in Navitus’s mock up photographs is inaccurate.

“Experts have shown me how they have used the lowest possible resolution for those pictures in order to persuade the public.

“I suggest everyone writes to Navitus Bay as soon as possible to register their objections.”

The closing date for the consultation is October 10.

To request a consultation form visit info@navitusbay.com or write to Freepost, Navitus Bay Wind Park.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/09/30/mp-opposes-windfarm-off-dorset-coast/