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).
A
Public Inquiry
to consider these three schemes was held in May and June 2009
and the result is expected towards the end of the year.
And now there’s
a fourth:
Energy giant
E.ON have applied to build 8
turbines, each 377 ft high
(115m), at West Ancroft.
In total, this means
28
turbines within a radius of just over 4 miles. 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, and those at Ancroft Southmoor would be virtually
surrounded by the combined turbines of Moorsyde and West Ancroft if both schemes were to go ahead.
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Latest
News
Councillors' West Ancroft Site Visit
The Councillors on the Planning Committee, who will determine the
West Ancroft Wind Farm application will be making a site visit
to our area on Wednesday 16th December. They will be taken
round various viewpoints between about 10am and 1pm; then they will
go to Aikengall near Dunbar to see one of the working wind farms in
the Lammermuirs.
Weather permitting, we will be flying two blimps during the site
visit. One at the eastern end of the site and one at the
western end near Ancroft Southmoor. The idea is to give a good
idea of the east-west spread of the turbines.
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 unlikely that the Council will determine the application until the end of this year.
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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