December 13, 2015
England

Campaigners will fight on despite noise ruling

Debbie Davies - huntspost24.co.uk - Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Campaigners calling for tighter controls on the noise emitted from wind turbines have vowed to fight on after environmental health officers ruled the levels do not constitute a nuisance.

People living in villages close to the Cotton Farm wind turbines at Graveley have reported being unable to sleep or open their windows due to the noise produced by eight 126-metre-high turbines.

Despite receiving hundreds of complaints from people living in nearby villages, officers at Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) and South Cambs District Council (SCDC) have decided there is no “statutory nuisance” and said it would be “inappropriate to take formal enforcement action under nuisance legislation”.

The neighbouring authorities produced their findings at a Cotton Farm Residents’ Association (CFRA) meeting held on November 26, but drew criticism from campaigners.

Andy Turner, chairman of the Residents’ Association, said: “It is now clear that neither HDC nor SCDC have the current capability, will, or funding to risk using nuisance law to protect residents from the adverse effects of noise from the wind farm.

“I am looking forward to hearing how they intend to protect us by other methods. The noise is very intrusive, people can’t get to sleep and can’t open their windows, it is really unpleasant to live under those conditions and people get very emotional about it.”

Mr Turner confirmed that some residents are looking into launching independent nuisance claims, funded by their home insurance legal policies, as they are unable to sell their homes.

CFRA has installed its own independently-funded noise monitoring equipment and will use evidence from this to lobby politicians for a change in the law on noise levels.

Graveley resident Bev Gray added: “Even after two and a half years of receiving a continuous stream of complaints from residents, neither HDC or SCDC have taken any formal action to enforce a reduction in noise.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/12/13/campaigners-will-fight-on-despite-noise-ruling/