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Windfarm triumph for campaigners
Wednesday 3rd September 2008, 10:47AM BST.
Proposals for seven giant wind turbines have been thrown out by councillors amid concerns they would “devastate” the landscape near Market Drayton.
About 300 people applauded yesterday after North Shropshire District Council’s development control committee voted to refuse plans for Nuon Renewables to put the turbines on Lower Farm, Bearstone.
Councillors said the turbines, each measuring 110m, would spoil the landscape and be detrimental to people’s wellbeing.
About 20 members of VORTEX (Veto on Rural Turbine Expansion) were outside The Grove School at Market Drayton with banners and placards before the meeting began, and hundreds of objectors crammed into the school hall to heckle and jeer throughout the meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, Terry May, from VORTEX, said the windfarm would “devastate our local landscape” and harm bats living on the site.Graham Davey, project manager for Nuon, said a screening process had taken place to find the best site, and that the project would generate enough electricity to power 7,000 homes.
“We fully acknowledge that people would rather this was not in the area but we feel that we are in pressing times. Wind generation is a part of the future,” he said.
A report before councillors had recommended they approve plans in accordance with a national drive for more renewable energy.
Councillor Gerald Dakin warned allowing the windfarm would set a precedent for more windfarms, as well as having a negative visual impact.
Councillor Brian Knight said: “Tonight has opened my eyes to see so many people out on this campaign. I think we live in a wonderful, marvellous place. As councillors for north Shropshire I think we should listen to the parish and the town councils.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Davey said Nuon were disappointed, and would consider lodging an appeal against the decision.
Mrs May said VORTEX anticipated an appeal, but vowed to fight again.
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this is a joke, the people of shropshire are struggling to pay their bills yet some nimbys are blocking a really good proposal for more green power, i say they should all have their electricity cut off for a week to show them we need power, let them live in the dark if they dont like it
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Mickey: well said
So I guess a low-level nuclear power station is what the folks of Drayton want? or perhaps they would like to live to a smoke belching “Buildwas” Station as long as it wasn’t too tall?
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Man-made climate change is the greatest global threat that we face today and its impacts are already being felt around the world. Wind power, both on and offshore must and will play a vital role in the energy mix and in addressing climate change, along with other renewables, energy efficiency and decentralised energy. Wind power is the most developed of all of the renewables and the most able to deliver truly sustainable energy on a large scale. Britain has 40% of the European wind resource and the potential to be a world class leader in this green technology, yet we are shamefully falling behind other countries when it comes to exploiting wind power
The UK has an obligation to the Kyoto Protocol, the only international legally binding agreement designed to address climate change and this obligation must be taken seriously. We also have to meet a renewable energy target of 15% by 2020 set by the European Union, and believe that wind power in the UK must play a important part in achieving that target.
Anyone Obstructing efforts to increase our introduction of low carbon,indeginous,non polluting renewable energy is repugnant,immoral and short sighted.
Local council taxpayers will now have to pay for the appeal of which the developer is highly likely to win.
Onshore wind power is now the cheapest form of power generation in the UK (Lords select committee 2008)
Yes2wind,Yes2renewables.
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Cheap “green energy”? I’m afraid you’ve been badly misinformed, Mickey.
Not only are wind farms an example of environmental vandalism at its worst, numerous studies (including reports from energy generation companies such as EON) show that wind turbines have a negligible impact on overall carbon emissions and that the energy they produce is both unreliable and expensive.
The uncomfortable fact is that electricity generated by wind turbines costs more than twice that of electricity generated by other conventional sources, including nuclear power. UK government figures now forecast that the ‘green’ Renewables Obligation subsidy given to wind generators is likely to cost the consumer up to an additional £26.8 billion between now and 2027 .
No-one seems to have noticed that this flawed policy undermines the efforts of other government departments now trying to respond to deep public concern about ‘fuel poverty’, which is affecting more and more vulnerable people in the UK.
It’s worth repeating: according to government figures the increasing use of wind turbines to generate electricity could see £6 billion a year added to UK power bills by 2020 – equivalent to around £250 per household.
A recent report from the National Grid suggest that £10 billion will have to be spent on upgrading and extending the network infrastructure to accommodate them and the energy regulator OFGEM acknowledges that the existing system is incapable of delivering kind of power the government hopes to generate in future.
The time has come to rethink our attitude towards wind farms. It needs to be stressed that there is no evidence to suggest that the global increase in wind power capacity will lead to the closure of any conventional generators. On the contrary, a the National Grid concluded that the UK will have to almost double its overall generating capacity to accommodate the government target for the growth in the number of wind turbines it hopes will be connected by 2027.
For the sake of ourselves and our children we should all be campaigning to stop wind farms everywhere. This madness must end.
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Well done to those standing up to business and showing that its not just about lining the corporate coffers regardless of the cost to those who actually have to live there.
And ignore those calling you nimbys – the name callers are just the ones that stood to gain (financialy?).
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Re Appeal: Didn’t the planners approve the application but the councillors declined it? This is the problem with democracy, thoses councillors just pander to the moans of the people who elect them and never consider the bigger picture.
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This is not good! I hope the developer wins the appeal and the nimby idiots pay the bill. We need this kind of green energy. I certainly have no problems living near a wind farm and can not see how turbines could devastate the local landscape and how many of these people really care about wildlife and bats?
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These people should be ashamed of themselves, wind power and renewable energy is the only way forward. VORTEX should get their facts straight. Wind farms provide power for countries all over the world and we should be following suit not going backwards.
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Interesting to use the word ‘Triumph’ in the headline. I can only see a ‘triumph’ of local councillors exhibiting a great degree of ‘self preservation’ as they pander to local nimby attitudes despite the advice of their own planning department.
Can somebody explain how these wind turbinse can be detrimental to peoples health. Unless they are very tall people around there I can’t see it myself!! Seriously why can’t people just admit they don’t want to spoil their very precious view and local councillors admit they are more interested in their friends and acquaintances than the subject matters in hand.
Hope the appeal takes place and turns over the decision.
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I must admit I was not suprised by this result – what more can we expect from our elected council? Should it go to appeal the planning inspector will not look at the decision but how the decision was made. As Lucy W points out the council planners recommended this application to be approved. In alot of cases the planning inspector will see through the NIMBY mist and common sense will prevail.
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Reply to Howard Goodall:
Your numbers are impressive but the basic message is the same one that has hamstrung the UK approach to renewables for the past years – it’s too expensive so let’s not do it! During the course of this Labour government we have had a succession of reviews and at least three white papers on climate change. The real output of these – very, very little. Interestingly enough the gist of the last white paper had energy security front and centre with sustainability following up behind. Although I don’t for one minute advocate wind farms as the be all and end all of renewables (there are many other potential solutions out there)it could form part of the solution given that we do live on the just about the windiest place in Europe. As with all renewables if we had got on with implementing them 10 years ago the costs you refer to wouldn’t be as impressive, as with all developing industries investment leads to greater consumption, technological development and lower costs. If the National Grid had put as much effort into the engineering as they have moaning about how difficult it is to accommodate lots of small generators we would be much further on in the product cycle.
We are pretty much out of gas, our oil stock is declining, we don’t mine coal any more. Rising fuel costs are a way of life for the future. Not doing anything because it costs too much is a pretty lame argument. Renewables are becoming more cost effective as is nuclear. Capital costs of nuclear are huge (I’m sure you’ll be able to dig out a cost from your library of references) as are the decommissioning costs. Does that mean we don’t pursue a nuclear solution? I don’t think so.
Lastly your reference to fuel poverty is very well made. I would argue that this issue needs to be addressed in a directed non-consumption based way as part of our welfare system (e.g. fuel tokens, direct payment etc.). Expecting commercial organisations to support those in fuel poverty strikes me as a very unlikely proposition in reality.
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Lucy W and Micky Finn – Maybe you should camp under a windfarm or turbine for a couple of weeks then tell us what you think? I don’t think you will be calling us nimbys then! – Get Real!!!
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I read with interests the costs/efficiency arguement, but if Private Investors want to invest in this – why not. It is them that will have to take a smaller profit when they compete with other forms of power generation.
This is a case of people putting their money where their mouths are – I for one respect that and feel they should be taken seriously.
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Paul have you ever spent time near a wind farm? Having visited turbines many times and during high winds i have never found them noise. You can’t hear them over the wind it’s self. You are a nimby plan and simple. How far from this wind farm is you house anyway. Why don’t the people of wales or the many other countries all over the world have a problem living near them.
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I’ve camped near them and they’re not noisy. Paul you just don’t like the look of them and it’s not fair that they are being turned down for this reason. If you and the rest of the nimby’s are so important then lets shut down all power stations so no one has to look at them and make our own energy. Turbines are clean and have no terrible health issues they are the way forward.
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This would simply be Environmental Vandalism were it to go ahead.
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