April 11, 2014
Wales

Full house rejects turbines

Naomi Penrose | County Times | 11 April 2014 | www.countytimes.co.uk

Hundreds of people packed out a town hall to express their anger at windfarm plans for Mid Wales.

More than 200 people attended an evening session of the conjoined public inquiry at Welshpool Town Hall last Thursday evening, when they had a chance to make their feelings known to planning inspector Andrew Poulter.

Tudor Jones, chairman of Berriew Community Council, said the most obvious threat is the desecration of the local rural economy.

He also spoke of the effect the plans would have on local roads. He said that roads in the area are narrow and will be unable to accommodate traffic.

“We do not want the extra traffic on our country lanes, we are talking about years of disruption. My young grandsons will see our rural roads becoming race tracks.

“This will be armageddon but we will see this coming.

“Our local authority is being bullied. The Welsh Government wants to impose this on us.”

Mr Jones also criticised the benefits that windfarm developers offer communities.

He said: “They say they will create 3,000 jobs in the construction of the windfarms but when it comes down to it, they will use contractors that they’ve used previously that aren’t from around here.”

Robert Haller, who lives in Llanbadarn Fynydd, described the applications as “appalling and totally insensitive”.

He said that he and his wife have been trying to sell their home for a number of years but have had no success due to the plans.

“We’ve had no success in selling our property due to the threat of windfarms. People who have viewed our home love the home but hate windfarms.

Windfarms do affect the housing market adversely.

“Our house is blighted by the effect of these industrial developments.”

Cathy Knapp, curator at Mid Wales Art Centre, told the inquiry that the proposals would have an impact on the tourism industry in the area.

She said: “People come to Mid Wales to escape the industrial landscapes and increasing overcrowdedness of the cities.

“We’ve lost our youth by failing to provide, so now our economy is left to tourism and farming.”

Ms Knapp described the proposed scheme as “brutal” and “short term moneymaking”.

County councillor Ann Holloway spoke out at the end of the evening and said it felt like the people of Mid Wales were living in “Putin’s Russia” as no-one seemed to be listening to them.

“Please listen to what the people of Mid Wales have told you,” she said. “We don’t want all these windfarms here.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/04/11/full-house-rejects-turbines/