July 12, 2014
England

Figures speak for themselves’ say anti wind-turbine marchers

The Yorkshire Post | 10 July 2014 | www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Campaigners who claim East Yorkshire has been “industrialised” by huge numbers of wind farms have criticised a council for making it difficult to stage a march they are holding this weekend.

East Yorkshire has the highest density of turbines in the country and hundreds are due to march from Beverley Westwood on East Riding Council this Saturday to say “enough is enough.”

Speakers include Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis, who is backing a Bill to end wind farm subsidies, and residents from 27 villages will attend.

Planning portfolio holder Coun Symon Fraser said yesterday the council was “their ally and not their enemy” and they should be marching on the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol, which has over-ruled local refusal decisions with “alarming regularity”.

But organiser Soraya Hutchinson said the council “did everything possible not to engage” with the march, not giving them the road closure notices they had been chasing since May.

She said: “It was only the police helping us on Monday that allowed this to go ahead.”

Although the council’s strategic draft policy 2014 states its aim “protect and enhance views across valued landscape features” and “protect the undeveloped coast” figures “speak for themselves” with 223 turbines over 50m high built, approved or pending consideration, and applications almost doubling in the last six months.

But Coun Fraser said the council had to follow Government guidance and “must be fundamentally positive and enabling.” Despite this they’d tried to reflect local opinion by refusing many applications.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/07/12/figures-speak-for-themselves-say-anti-wind-turbine-marchers-2/