The Great Windrush
All
over the country wind farms, and proposals for yet more wind farms,
are springing up like weeds. Ordinary folk who have savoured the
quiet enjoyment of their surroundings suddenly find themselves in
the centre of horrendous emotional and financial battles in which,
as like as not, the local democratically-expressed will of the
people is tossed aside in a desperate attempt to meet EU/UK
renewable energy targets. If you would like to know more about the
arguments raging over this situation, go to The Big Issues.
Wind farms in north Northumberland
The
people of north Northumberland, just to the south of Berwick upon
Toft Hill
(20
huge turbines in a beautiful, settled, lowland, farming
landscape)
since 2004.
The fight has been very costly both in terms of finance and
emotions, but the outcome of a long public inquiry in May/June 2009
has been that the appeals for Moorsyde and Toft Hill have been
refused; but the appeal for Barmoor has been upheld.
And now there’s
a fourth:
Energy giant
E.ON have applied to build 8
turbines, each 377 ft high
(115m), at West Ancroft. And
there are more in the pipeline too.
West Ancroft Wind Farm
E.ON proposes to construct eight 115m turbines on land
between Ancroft, Bowsden and Duddo, about 5 miles south of Berwick
upon Tweed, on land which looks out to Holy Island (6 miles away),
the Farne Islands, and the Northumberland coast.
The magnificent backdrop of the
Northumberland National Park (Cheviot Hills)
is
to the south.
The houses closest to the proposed turbines are only just over 600
yards away from them.
Implications of rejection of Moorsyde scheme
The Inspector concluded that 'harms of the Moorsyde scheme outweigh
the benefits. This is principally because of the substantial
weight I give to the serious harm that would be caused to principal
views of the Cheviots'.
Since the Moorsyde and West Ancroft sites are separated by only a
fence, these conclusions are likely to apply just as much to the
latter scheme. Moreover, the other negative effects of the
scheme which she highlighted ('major adverse effect on the
landscape'; visual amenities of nearby residents 'materially
harmed'; noise limits 'would be breached' and 'turbines might need
to have their power capped' to protect nearby residents from noise)
would inevitably apply equally (and possibly to a greater degree) to
the West Ancroft application.
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Latest
News
Wind Farm Update Meeting
Thursday 25 March
A very encouraging meeting was held in Ancroft Memorial Hall on Thursday 25th March to review the current wind farm situation in north Northumberland. See the report of the meeting, which also incorporated WACA's AGM.
E.on accused of misleading
Councillors at Site Visit
Councillors of the Northumberland County Council Planning
Committee, who will determine the West Ancroft Application, visited
the site on 16th December. WACA has accused E.on of misleading
the Councillors by placing the straw bale marking the turbine
closest (556m) to nearby residential properties in the incorrect
position - approx 200m away from its correct position and about 100m
further away from the properties than on the site plan.
Moreover, the relevant photomontage for the view from these
properties has been shown to have serious flaws: 4 out of the 8
turbines are incorrectly positioned (one by as much as 250m) and 3
of them are IN THE WRONG FIELD! In the light of these and
other errors in their application, and of the implications of the
Inspector's conclusions on the Moorsyde scheme, WACA has submitted
that E.on should withdraw their application.
West Ancroft Wind Farm Application
E.ON's application has been submitted and registered (reference number:09/00063/CCMEIA) with Northumberland County Council. For the latest information on this application please see the WACA Newsletter. It is likely that this application will be determined in 'late summer' 2010.
ASA Uphold Complaint against E.ON
ASA on 29th July upheld two of three complaints against E.ON relating to their publicity about the West Ancroft site. For more details see the latest newsletter.
West Ancroft Wind Farm Online Petition
Please click here to ask members of the Council Central Planning Committee to reject this application.
WACA: West Ancroft Community Action
WACA was set up at a public
meeting in Ancroft Memorial Hall on 27
November,
2008.
WACA aims
to represent the views
of the local people of north Northumberland and the nearby Scottish
Borders in responding to the West Ancroft Wind Farm proposal.
It
is especially important to create a ‘voice’ for local
residents because this is a time of major change in the local
government system: Berwick upon Tweed Borough Council, along with
the other borough councils in Northumberland, ceased to exist
on 31 March 2009 and was replaced by a new unitary authority
- Northumberland County Council. The
Councillors, who will determine this application, come from all over
the county and live very far from Berwick.
Membership of
WACA costs £10 per household per year. To join WACA, or to
make a donation,
click here.
Keeping in touch. If you do not wish to become a member but would like us to send you updates by email, click here.
Further
information can be found
in News.
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