Claim Shropshire wind turbine will blight lives

About 50 people turned out at a heated meeting in Ellesmere Town Hall last night to hear a presentation on proposals for a 246ft-high turbine in nearby Tetchill.

The scheme for a turbine on land off Ellesmere Road at Onston Farm, owned by Severn Sisters, divided opinion as voices were raised and one man walked out.

Dr Hansjorg Vollmer, CEO of Intech Clean Energy UK, told the meeting that 'we need to live sustainably' and the wind should be used. He said: "The advantage of the big turbine is that it is improved, there is better acoustics, less turbulence."

He said the noise at the foot of the turbine would be about 55db and compared it to the radiator in the room.

But councillor Jack Frost stood up and said: "Do you think I'm an idiot? Do you think we're all stupid? It's going to cover a huge area, the noise is going to travel out,"

The turbine would have a mast height of 75 metres and a rotor blade of 55 metres, it is expected to generate up to 500kW of electricity – enough for 120 homes and businesses. Residents said a smaller turbine in the village is 'like a tap dripping' that you can't turn off.

Patricia Florendine, 54, of Tetchill, said: "When you have windows open you can hear it. We do not want another. Anything bigger will be disastrous."

James Meacock, 43, lives near the proposed site. He said: "It is going to be a blight on the landscape. Will we get compensation for the loss of property values?"

But Robert Williams, 68, of Severn Sisters, said: "There is only so many places you can put renewable energy sources, we saw it is windy here and the connection to the grid so we looked into it.

"It will be a benefit to the farm, but we will continue to farm as well.

"I'm surprised by some of the comments, there is also noise from the main road."

A planning application has not yet been submitted.