Massive wind turbines planned for Bradford Estate
Thursday 6th January 2011, 12:30PM GMT.
Six massive wind turbines which would be the tallest in the country may be built at an estate on the Shropshire border if planners agree.
An application has been lodged with South Staffordshire County Council for six new turbines within the Bradford Estate.
Estate chiefs have lodged the plans for the turbines which would be 413ft (126m) tall – two-and-a-half times the height of Nelson’s Column in London.
Wind Prospect, which has submitted the proposal on behalf of the Bradford Estate, has said electricity generated from the turbines would be fed into the local distribution network for use in Shropshire and would provide power for more than 6,000 homes.
The controversial proposals have already sparked anger from nearby residents who claim the turbines would ruin the landscape if they are given the go-ahead.
Tony Lendon, chairman of the Stop Turbine Action Group based in neighbouring Church Eaton, said: “They’re going to ruin the landscape.
“They are wanting to put six up and they will be the tallest in the country at 413ft to the top. It’s one of the quietest wind areas in the country which is why they will be so tall. It will be a blot on the landscape.”
Mr Lendon claimed wildlife would also suffer, while new access roads would need to be created.
He said: “There are about 20 people in our group and we are fighting this. We have been asked by both Blymhill and Church Eaton Parish Council to investigate and let them know what we think they should do and what their representation will be. We will be saying that it should be opposed.”
The group will hold an open meeting on Wednesday at 7.30pm allowing local residents the chance to have their say.
Wind Prospect said residents had been consulted and that the project would include an annual contribution of £24,000 to a Community Trust Fund, which would be established to support community projects in the area.
Paul Grimshaw, development manager at Wind Prospect Developments Limited, said: “The project has been subject to detailed Environmental Impact Studies, which conclude that the site is suitable for a wind farm of this scale.
“Indeed, when considering proximity to houses, this site is one of the few in South Staffordshire that could accommodate a small wind farm.”
No one at the Bradford Estate was available for comment.
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I notice in that wonderful report that there is no mention that Weston Park is owned by the National Trust which was set up to secure the heritage of fine buildings like the weston park house.
I personally don’t care whether these turbines are built on the estate or not as I live far enough away to niether see them or most of all HEAR them and believe me, they are quite noisy and I personally don’t think that this is the right place for them, but with government cutbacks I suppose the N.T. needs the money.
One thing is certain, love them or hate them, you won’t ignore them.
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Wrong. Weston Park is NOT an N.T. property.
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excellent news i love them they look very attactive to me, so slim and elegant like a white swan
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I don’t think Weston Park is owned by the National Trust.
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“I notice in that wonderful report that there is no mention that Weston Park is owned by the National Trust”
That’s probably because it isn’t – the house, park and gardens belong to the Weston Park Foundation, a charitable trust.
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Whether Weston Park is owned by the National trust or not is not the issue. The issue is the wind turbines.
Shropshire is one of the most beautifull county’s in th e country and as far as I’m concerned the wind turbines are a blot on the landscape. Apart from that they are extremely noisy. Most importantly they are unreliable. Over this cold snap the UK has encountered wind farms in Scotland have been rendered useless as they froze up and encountered various other technical problems.
Also I have got to question the safety of siting these wind turbines at this location. Will they not pose a danger to aircraft (gliders etc) that fly out of nearby RAF Cosford?
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Ironic to link dangers to Aircraft with aesthetic objections to turbines. Have you seen the cold war building at cosford aero museum? A little difficult to miss, in any case I heard cosford might close, no noisy training planes then!
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the RAF no longer object mate, unlucky that arguement is dead in fact the MOD estate now employ their own wind team and are looking at installing some themselves
visit yes2wind.com for the facts
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The Cosford site will of been taken into account. They will have had to site the turbines in accordance with flight zones. Also, there are restrictions on distances between dwellings etc.
I don’t see peoples issues with wind turbines – they’re REALLY not that noisy.
Yes, Shropshire is beautiful. Yes, we want to preserve it.
However, for a start, most wind farm sites have a temporary planning permission. If we want to help preserve this beautiful landscape, we have to start preserving the UK as a whole with renewable sources.
The wind farms may have had difficulties due to the low weather conditions but the same is said about your water supply with freezing pipes.
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good news for jobs and the planet! nice one
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thats exactly what Shropshire needs is proper well paid engineering jobs for graduates to stay in the county and bring up the average earnings to some where near the national average – whilst producing clean green cheap power for local homes and businesses this is further helping the area financially, so its a win, win – this can only be a good thing for the local economy
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“We need more engineering jobs around here” – it will be 2-4 blokes in a white van, employed by the turbine manufacturers, coming around every 3 months and do routine maintenance. “Cheap green energy” – minuscule amounts of very expensive subsidized energy,
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Can i just point out that Weston Park is in Staffordshire, not Shropshire
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Indeed you may. And may I point out that the report clearly says ‘on the Shropshire border’. It affects the county, you see, which is why we’ve reported it.
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The Shropshire Star isn’t the issue, its all this “beautiful Shropshire stuff i keep reading
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Glad someone finally noticed.
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we desperately need more renewable energy in this country, wind is the most proven and cost effective technology for those who dislike the look of them, try a big biomass power station, a waste incinerator or a field of solar panels if you prefer but not only will this cost you more and be less efficient but I suspect you wont like the look of the either!
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Cobblers.
Windmills are by far the least efficient means of generating electricity into supply.
During the recent cold snap, all of the combined wind farms in the country at best satisfied 0.60% of the electricity demand to the country.
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I think you will find that “yes2wind.com” is a site funded by the wind industry. For a good read and the other side of the coin try The Crosses of Aiolos by Keith Milligan, available through Lulu. It shows the down side of wind power and the devious tricks of the wind industry,
Keep an open mind please and ask youself where our power will come from on still days. Maybe we should be looking at tide power which happens every day
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i’d welcome them, there or in shropshire or even right in my back yard!
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