February 21, 2014
England

Campaigners vow to continue fighting wind turbine ‘farm’

21st February 2014 | www.viewfrompublishing.co.uk

Opponents of plans for a wind turbine “farm” close to Tolpuddle say they will continue to press councillors to reject the scheme.

Although the scheme has been reduced from nine to five turbines, each scaled down from 126 to 115 metres, opposition group, Tolpuddle Against Industrial Turbines, (TAINT), say they remain resolutely opposed to any turbines near the village.

The company behind the project, West Coast Energy, said at a public exhibition in the village last week that they have scaled the project down after listening to local views.

They say they are also committed to giving £5,000 to the community for each megawatt of power produced by the turbines which could amount to at least £50,000 a year, or £1.6million over the life of the scheme.

Matthew Hayes, head of planning and project management, said although he was aware of opposition a number of people had also told him of their support for the scheme and the benefits it could bring.

West Coast Energy is expected to submit their plans to West Dorset District Council planners “in late spring”.

The wind farm is projected to generate enough renewable electricity to meet the annual domestic electricity consumption needs equivalent to around 5,500 homes.

Steve Salt, West Coast Energy Planning and Public Affairs Director, said: “We had a really good turnout from the local community, and it was great to speak with so many people about our revised proposal. A lot of visitors to the exhibition were interested in our community benefit fund, which will guarantee at least £1.6million of funding to the local area, and in our commitment to addressing fuel poverty, which is a serious issue in Dorset.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/02/21/campaigners-vow-to-continue-fighting-wind-turbine-farm/