LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]



Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Anglican priest attacks church over wind farm 

Credit:  Mark Macaskill and Mary O’Connor | The Sunday Times | September 18, 2016 | www.thetimes.co.uk ~~

An Anglican priest has criticised the Church of England over a proposed wind farm in the Scottish Borders that he claims will desecrate the landscape.

RES, a renewable energy firm, has struck a deal to build 13 turbines, some as high as 176m, on land owned by the church near Hawick.

More than 100 objections have been lodged with council planners by residents, who fear Highlee Hill wind farm will scar the countryside, damage tourism and disrupt wildlife. The area is home to peregrines, kites, merlins and hen harriers.

An intervention by Andrew Warburton, a retired Anglican priest who lives near Newcastleton, close to the proposed development, is likely to prove embarassing for church officials.

In a letter to Scottish Borders council, Warburton, who served as a priest in Oxfordshire, said he was “ashamed” of his church for refusing to face residents who were likely to be affected by the wind farm.

“I am appalled that the Church Commissioners of England have had the gall to support this development in Scotland,” writes Warburton.

“In England they would have been required to engage with local people. But here they are not bothered to meet with those most directly affected. This is not the way that a supposedly Christian organisation is supposed to behave.”

Campaigners claim that Highlee Hill is among more than a dozen wind farms proposed within a 20 square-mile radius of the Scottish Borders.

Not all residents oppose the project. Jane Allan, a resident of nearby Wolfehopelee, has backed the wind farm but urged the Forestry Commission to replant the 26 hectares of trees that will be uprooted.

The Church of England commissioners said the Highlee Hill project could provide electricity for up to 30,000 homes and generate £3.6m of investment for the local economy.

“The commissioners continue to monitor and take into account ongoing community consultations and are in regular dialogue with the developer on this project,” said a spokesman.

Source:  Mark Macaskill and Mary O’Connor | The Sunday Times | September 18, 2016 | www.thetimes.co.uk

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon