Controversial plans to build seven giant wind turbines near Market Drayton could be approved next week, despite thousands of objections from angry neighbours.A report to go before members of North Shropshire District Council’s development control committee recommends approval for the wind turbines at Lower Farm, Bearstone, which will each be 110m in height.
The advice from council planning officers comes after more than 2,000 letters of objection flooded into the district council, and just five letters of support.
Parish councils have also objected to the plans for energy firm Nuon Renewables, as well as North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, who said the windfarm would devalue properties, ruin the landscape and endanger the lives of trainee pilots from RAF Shawbury, who would have to avoid the wind turbines.
The Vortex group (Veto on Rural Turbine Expansion) also objected to the plans. Members now say they will turn out in force at the planning meeting on September 2.
Vortex co-ordinator Terry May said she hoped several hundred members of the group would turn out for the meeting.
She said the group would be flying a blimp balloon near the site at 110m on the day of the meeting, to demonstrate how tall the wind turbines would be.
“It’s very disappointing. But we will still try to persuade the councillors to turn it down,” she said.
“There’s so many things that are wrong. It goes against a large number of rules in the local plan. It’s not in the right location. It’s far too big for the area.”
She added: “It’s going to significantly affect the visual impact on the landscape of the area.
“We shall be very peaceful, but we plan to have as many people there as possible. We will make our point by showing the planning authority exactly the strength of feeling of the locals.
“We have well over 1,000 members and we will ask them all to be there if they can make it.”
The officers’ report states the windfarm complies with national policy for the development of renewable energy.
It says: “The landscape impacts are localised in nature and this impact is not considered to be sufficient to outweigh the need for renewable energy generation, which is of regional and national importance.”
The planning meeting takes place from 7pm at the Grove School in Market Drayton.
By Abigail Bates
48 Comments
What a load of rubbish! Why are these people objecting? Are the trainee pilots so bad at flying they are a danger to anything that stands out like houses, hills? These wind turbines aren’t dangerous to health and why do they devalue homes? I would also like to know how close these 2000 objectors live from the turbines.
Lets hope these turbines get the go ahead. It would not put me off buying a house because a wind farm was sited near by. I love them and would happily have one in my area. They cause no harm to residents so whats the problem?
Do 2000 people really live next to this proposed wind farm. I haven’t heard a good reason for not putting it there. Have these people been out to visit a farm so that they know what they are talking about.
How would Elle feel if they erected several giant wind turbines with their associated noise in her back yard.
These wind turbines may be evironmentally friendly but what an eyesore.
Thousands of people have objected to them but it seems their objections have fallen on “deaf ears”. so much for democracy. Seems like you have to be in the minority to win these days
What sort of a Democracy do we live in where 2,000 letters of objection are ignored?
It just goes to show that despite massive public opposition and North Staffs Council refusing permission for the access road, big business will always win over North Shropshire planners in the end. Public opinion evidently counts for nothing where North Shropshire District Council is concerned. Just as well that this spineless authority will soon be abolished.
Elle, hear hear
If only people would see these turbines as artisic sculptures to rival the Angel of the North. And look at the tourist pound the Angel brought in, doesn’t Market Drayton have a problem with funding its carnival this year? Well here’s the solution. Charge people to visit the turbines in order finance the Carnival!
For the avoidance of doubt, if these turbines are erected they will cause no difficulties to air crew from Shawbury whatsoever. What will happen is that the area in question will be NOTAM’ed as a Danger Area and that the area is to be avoided (NOTAM=NOtification To AirMen), and all navigation charts will be amended permanently at the next 6-monthly change.
Also, Shawbury radar operates in a “cone” shape. If the turbines do fall within the scope of the radar, they will be notified as being “permanent echoes” and air traffic will notify all incoming flights of it’s location.
On another comments page, a correspondent bemoans the lack of provision for sustainable transport in the county, yet in this case a “sustainable” solution is being opposed! Two cases of cherry picking the sustainable, environmentally friendly tree, to suit particular agendas.
These turbines are noisy eyesores! They would ruin the landscape and blight people’s lives. I know we need renewable energy but a noisy industrial power station 500m from someones home is too close.
great news, these turbines will be wonderful for the local economy and environment and they will help the uk have clean, secure, green, cheap power to improve our national security and economic capability
So there are 2000 objections, perhaps their reasons for objection are outweighed by other material considerations in the planning process. If the wrong weighting is attached to a relatively minor aspect such as visual impact which is subjective anyway then the applicants would just appeal the refusal, have it permitted by the planning inspectorate and then claim costs from the local authority. I’m sure those 2000 would then be enraged that their council tax was paying for something like that.
good - most people that object to turbines are from out of the area, there are national groups who pre compose letters for all to sign, the people of shropshrie need cheap green power now, i would welcome it in my area, we have one on the village hall in Bayston Hill and its great
People need to think long and hard before objecting to this, IMO they look great, partly as they look modern and stylish and partly because of what they do, make clean renewable energy.
I have family in Scandinavia where they have many turbines and I can confirm from personal experience they are not noisy, especially from 500m away. I wonder how many people here quoting this load of tosh have ACTUALLY seen/ heard one. To James and the rest of you, where are your facts to back up these statements?
As for an eyesore, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and eye! for one think they look great.
Bring on the turbines, right on my doorstep. I have no problem with that at all. I was standing under one last week near Aberdovey on a VERY wet and WINDY day. It was beautiful and it wasn’t noisy (the wind was). Brian go visit a wind farm and talk to the people who live by them like we have.
James what about all the people who live that close to buildwas power station to provide YOU with energy. Wouldn’t it be better to live by a nice clean wind farm? Lets hope it goes a head.
Is this wind farm going in the middle of a housing estate? How can 2,000 people live near the proposed wind farm? It sounds like 2,000 nimbys have jumped on a bandwagon. I have no problem living near it.
James i take it that you have been to one of these wind farms? If not i think you should go and visit one. They aren’t as bad as you think, noise wasn’t a problem as the noise of the wind covered up any noise coming from the turbine. You see a lot of them as you travel round Wales and they don’t ruin the landscape. But the most important issue here is that we need clean energy sources that will not damage our health.
I gather from Mr Pattersons comments that they’ve changed the law.
When we objected to a development in the past year or so we were told that impact upon the value of peoples property is not a consideration
So I suggest you save you time campaigning on that front, it ain’t gonna work!
What chance do local rsidents have when coming up against a profit hungry corporate. not much but good luck to them anyway.
NIMBY you took the words right out of my mouth. We need this kind of forward thing, green energy. I love them and would love a wind farm on my doorstep. We should all write to North Shropshire District Council’s development control committee and voice our support as it seems that anyone can have their say on this matter. 2,000 letters???? Can their even be that many people living next to the site?
I hope they check every address on these letters of objection. Are there any wind turbines in shropshire? And if not, why not.
If you really don’t like wind farms and think they are noisy (they’re not - I’ve stood next to a turbine and could just about hear it over the wind) then I suggest you move to Buildwas - the power station there is GREAT, I love it, I can see it from miles away, belching it’s poisonous fumes into the atomsphere. Hydro is used to make up the lulls in wind power in the short term, wind can then be used to fil lthe reservoirs in times of glut.
VORTEX’s facts are poorly (if at all) researched - Bio Fuels good ? I think not. VORTEX is clearly a lobbying group made up of the kind of NIMBY’s that buy rural homes when moving from cities and displacing the people who live there already ‘I moved to the country for the countryside’ well go and ask a farmer, ‘cos I know a few, and they’ll tell you the countryside is a big factory which feeds people - and at a poor profit. Wind farms are not ‘As black as coal’ as VORTEX would have you believe, they are a good source of income in a rural economy, they generate clean energy with no emmisions, they have a tiny foot print, and if the RAF cannot avoid them during their training then I pray to god we never have a war because they have guns and bombs and don’t play fair.
I stay in a caravan near to the turbines up on Llandinam hill, and they are fine. Little noise, and lovely to look at.
Very surprised that Owen Patterson as an intelligent and progressive M.P. should object to this green energy project.
I think all of you in favour of wind farms are missing the point. Wind farms can never ever replace fossil fuel due to the intermittent nature of the wind and the govt accepts we will need 90% base load back up, meaning even when the wind is blowing buildwas etc will still be burning coal waiting to turn the turbines back on when the wind drops, this is called spinning reverse and means co2 is still produced when the wind is at optimum speed. The idea of securing our fuel supply through wind is a joke and a con played by the mega elec companies that exploit thick do gooder eco fascists into believing wind is the answer. Wind turbines are also noisey at certain times depending on wind velocity and angle. They have been shown to kill large numbers of birds and also bats through blade strike and pressure drops. Most wind farms are also built on hill tops/moors etc often on peat land, drying it out and ruining its carbon sink potential. Wind farms have only a small part to play in our energy supply as off shore installations as the machines can be bigger (5mw) and the wind speed is more consistent. Wind farms on land only evr produce 20-30% of their reported max output over a year. IE a windfarm capable of producing 20mw will over a year only produce 4-5mw on average as wind is intermittent. When we most need elec in the winter in clear cold periods wind farms produce nothing as it co-incides with high pressure and NO wind, same situation in the summer when its hot and offices etc are running air con, no wind due to high pressure. Wind is and has always been a con and we can cover the hole of the uk in them and the lights will still go out when the wind drops. I just hope the eco fascists above come on here and apolagise for their views that they hold with no research into the topic. The only way you can have carbon free elec with a constant and consistent supply that can be counted on is via nuclear power. Many people i know hate it, but i would rather live by 1 nuclear plant supplying most of the midlands than hundreds on turbines spoiling what is left of the countryside and only managing to power one bulb in someones house in ludlow.
Finally, if wind turbines are beatiful why are they banned from being built in national parks and AONB’S? Answer: because planning law accepts theyre ugly monstrosities that shouldnt be placed there despite the higher average wind speeds in our mountain landscapes. This blows out the water the arguements that they are nice to look at. they arent and only eco fascists say so.
any pilot who flies into a stationary object should not be flying, they are less hazardous that power stations where the updraft from the hot air can cause problems for pilots (and it stinks) - the pilot fear is just scare mongering, its really not a problem for pilots.
We all need more wind turbines desperately, the luddite nimbys that object should have there power cut off for a few weeks, then tell me then dont want more electricity generation locally
I’m no eco fascist.But i do my bit (recycling etc) I think they look beautiful, end of story and so do many people who travel to see them. They are eyecatching and when our kids saw them while travelling through Wales we decided to take a closer look. They were not noisy and they were spinning very fast. Give me wind power over nuclear anyday. Why can’t we get our energy from green sources? Solar heating, Geothermal Heating, hydro power (which is how wind farms are given back up). Dave your horrid comments about thick eco fascist do gooders says it all about you. Why do you feel the need to be so rude? Wind power used along side other green energy sources IS the only way forward. It’s working for other counties all over the world so why not here.
Dave where on earth do you get your facts from? The vortex website by any chance!
silly NIMBYs will they protest more when the lights go out??? we have an energy gap an energy crises, we need all the power we can get and their aesthetic objections mean nothing to no one
Wind turbines are not worthwhile investing in.
The amount of energy obtained will be at the best minimal.
To prevent a energy shortage in 10 years from now we need to build 6 new Nuclear power stations for the UK.
I would suggest placing these power stations in brownfield sites which are abandoned in major cities
ie
Manchester
London
Birmingham
Glasgow
Cardiff
would all be good area’s to place new nuclear power stations
after the majority of power usage comes from big cities
And we can store all the waste from these nuclear power stations where?
I love them, so sorry Dave that blows your arguement out the water.
Actually dave, PPS22 states “In sites with nationally recognised designations (Sites of Special Scientific Interest, National
Nature Reserves, National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Heritage Coasts,
Scheduled Monuments, Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, Registered Historic
Battlefields and Registered Parks and Gardens) planning permission for renewable energy
projects should only be granted where it can be demonstrated that the objectives of
designation of the area will not be compromised by the development, and any significant
adverse effects on the qualities for which the area has been designated are clearly
outweighed by the environmental, social and economic benefits.” It does not say anywhere that they are banned. If you are wrong about planning law maybe you could be wrong about other things. You will almost certainly be in the minority if you’d rather live next to a Nuclear plant than a wind farm. Besides just what would we do with all that waste?
let the lights go out we’ll have candels, let them eat cake I say, I eat carrots and i can see in the dark, we need no more coal, no more nuclear, no wind and no pv, lets all harness the static electricity and we can float around on clouds and drink sea water, yes we need no turbines in these parts, just turn the lights off like our friend owen patterson, i bet hes got a low carbon footprint NOT! has he spoken to dave cameron about his turbine? Doubt it, he probably doesnt even use electricity does he
Elle - there is a ideal place to store all our nuclear waste/rubbish etc.
It is uninhabitated
No one ever visits it (well not since the 70’s)
No one will complain about the nuclear waste being left there either.
Plus the nuclear waste will not damage our eco systems
The solution is to store all our nuclear waste on the moon.
I for one say YES to wind, and if people object rationally ok lets work with them to find solutions and comprimises but if people are merely aesthetic objectors, just ignore them
Dave, while your counter argument is insightful and well written it is very hard to take seriously with you constantly reffering to people as eco fascists… to me you sound like a 5 year old who isn’t getting his own way so has decided name calling is the best option.
I would also love to read the facts for myself, could you point me to where you are getting this information from?
Y Mab Darogan-don’t dump it there it sounds great, think i might move there myself.
Dave you find wind farms in many of the beauitful national parks. How close to this new wind farm do you live?
wind farms are fine out to sea and in hilly parts of remote country. don’t think m/drayton is remote or hilly. case dismissed
It would be nice to know that, living just a mile or so away from the proposed site for the new wind farm, I would be living in a place that is forward-thinking and open-minded enough to welcome and support innovative clean technologies for producing energy.
If the development does go ahead, I will be proud that my hometown of Market Drayton has a wind farm, one of very few in the local area, and hope that it is just the beginning of many more positive and progressive projects for our small rural town.
This will force our main local employer out of business. Bearstone Stud in the biggest outside Newmarket and had two farms within one kilometre. Noone is going to send a two million pound racehorse there. There is so much energy about the inefficiency of these windfarms. People who are for them should meet Jane Davis, a farmer from Lincolnshire who has been forced out of her home because of the ill-effects and noise. We need renewable energy-part of which could come from windfarms, but put them by the coast, in the mountains, out at see, places with NO people and most of all places with WIND.
wind turbines dont generate alot of power - you must be having a joke right, they are massive, even if they only have aload facotr of 30% well a power station of any sort will only have a load factor of 40-50% becuase of all the waste heat, wind turbines generate millions of kWh per annum already and could do loads more if nimby’s backed off, one study found that we could meet 8 times our annual electricity needs through wind alone, now that has to be a good thing, im no greenie but for god sake these machines are so clearly the future i wish people like vortex would back off
i actually live in market drayton unlike most of the protestors and letter writers and i’d be proud to have my town covered in turbines, in shropshire we started the industrial revolution, now lets lead the green revolution, it would be great for the economy and the environment, i hope the views of the great silent majority who want electricity but dont want the climate change are given presendence over a minority of vinegary old foggies who are stuck in the Dark Ages and want to keep the country backward, cold, dark and polluted
Now then, I don’t normally have a lot of time for tree huggers and ‘eco-fascists’ but I’m with them on the topic of wind turbines. I would far rather have these developments across the countryside than the monsters that are power stations (nuclear, gas, coal or otherwise).
I accept that they do not remove the need for conventional sources of electricity but they will contribute to a reduction in the demand on coal / gas / nuclear generated power.
The further development of wind generated electicity should be part of a much bigger plan. All new build homes, offices and factories should be compelled to include solar panels in the specification. Water leaving the resevoirs should be driving hydro turbines along the way. Every little bit helps.
glad the planners are learning to ignore the luddites and put our strategic energy and thus national security interests ahead of aesthetic objections
Actually 1500 out of the 1650 objecting homes were from villages and towns near the site, only 150 were from places further away, and these people have connections with the area and have as much right as anyone to object.
How close are all these homes then, because it makes no sense to place a wind farm in the middle of a housing estate. It sounds like most of the objectors live miles around the site.
I’ve read coments that these wind turbines will hardly generate any electricity, but if thats true, why is private finance being used on such a “folly”?
I thought Y Mabs suggestion to built Nuclear Stations in his list of citys was a good one and I have done some research and identified some areas in his list that aren’t being used for anything important, just got grass and a load of seats around them.
Manchester - Sir Matt Busby Way
London - Highbury House, 75 Drayton Park
Birmingham - Villa Park, Trinity Road
Glasgow - 150 Edmiston Drive
Cardiff - Ninian Park, Sloper Road
Can’t see any objection to that?
PS You cant dump Nuc waste on the moon because I own a little bit of it and have a certificate to prove it!