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Villagers urged to fight Shrewsbury turbine plans
Credit: Shropshire Star | May 10, 2014 | www.shropshirestar.com ~~
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Campaigners against a 150ft wind turbine near Shrewsbury are urging residents to turn out in force to let councillors know what they think.
Similar plans for a turbine on Long Mountain were withdrawn at the last minute in December following more than 50 objections from locals and military bosses.
It had been intended the turbine would be installed on land at Hargreaves Farm, near Halfway House and Vron Gate near Shrewsbury.
A new application has now been submitted, and will be discussed by Westbury Parish Council at the village hall on Wednesday. The meeting starts at 7.30pm and is open to all.
Local resident Ian Wright said: “Now, new plans have been submitted which appear to be identical to the withdrawn application – apart from the siting of the turbine moving about 700m to the north east.
“This means it is now just off the ridge of Long Mountain. This may make it more acceptable to Shawbury but it will still be entirely visible over a large part of this area.
“Breaking the skyline with a rotating object of this size will catch the eye to an unwarranted extent.”
Mr Wright added: “There will be an opportunity, at the discretion of the chair, for members of the public to address the council on the subject, for not more than five minutes each.
“The local people who object to this proposal are keen to get as many members of the public to attend the parish council meeting.”
The original scheme attracted scores of objections from local residents, while military bosses said it would cause ‘unacceptable interference’ to an air traffic control radar at RAF Shawbury. The proposal was also opposed by the Shropshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.
The turbine’s blades would have reached a height of 46.3 metres. It was intended to serve a business that farms 170 acres, with 700 breeding ewes and crops. But objectors claimed that the turbine would be a blot on the landscape and would be detrimental to the visual aspect of the surrounding countryside.
The Ministry of Defence had objected to the plans amid concerns about its potential impact on RAF Shawbury, which is about 15 miles away from the planned site.
The new planning application was submitted to Shropshire Council on April 18. The new plans show that on a clear day the turbine could theoretically be seen from Maesbury Marsh in the north of the county to The Bog in the south.
In a design statement prepared on behalf of the applicants P&P Hughes, Roger Parry and Associates said the turbine would allow for farm diversification which ‘would provide a financial benefit to the farming enterprise of the applicant, thereby securing the future of the farm’.
The design statement concluded that ‘the landscape and visual assessment has established that the proposed wind turbine will have a limited effect in terms of both landscape character and visual amenity’.
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