Trentside Links
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September 2013
Trentside Correspondence WIND TURBINES
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e would like to apologise to Mr Moulds for not giving him the right to reply in the last issue. This was an oversight and we are pleased to be able to print Mr Moulds response to re-address the balance.
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n reply to Mr Richard Farley’s Wind Turbine letter.
The public is entitled to have an opinion. As such, we accept some people are against wind turbines. However, as a community publication, Trentside Links should not be used as a forum for expressing one’s own personal, biased views, or for making groundless attacks on neighbours. Whether Mr Farley likes it or not, many people are not opposed to renewable energy, and their views were in no way reflected in his article. In the July edition of Trentside Links, Mr Farley’s piece accuses us, The Grange Farm, of doing something underhand in order to obtain planning permission for our wind turbine. If Mr Farley is able to provide any evidence of this, would you please publish the details? Or if Mr Farley is unable to, we would appreciate a full written apology in the next edition of Trentside Links. Would Mr Farley also have the courtesy to contact us directly, or is that out of the question seeing as he didn’t even bother to consult us to obtain the real facts prior to publishing his defamatory opinions? We are extremely concerned and upset about Mr Farley’s libellous accusations which are totally unfounded and completely mislead readers. It is only fair that this is publicly redressed by Trentside Links. Prior to installing the wind turbine, we diligently followed all the necessary planning regulations including: • • •
Carrying out an environmental impact study Carrying out a bat survey Taking photographs from a 5 mile
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radius around the site to assess the impact on the landscape Performing an assessment of other existing manmade structures in the vicinity of the site (which resulted in listing three power stations and numerous electricity pylons – all of which are not exactly pleasant to look at, but are necessary in this modern world)
Notices were put up by West Lindsey District Council at the closest public point to the turbine and published in at least one local newspaper. The West Lindsey District Council planning portal which is accessible by members of the public at all times also contained a notice of the planning application. It also went to planning committee and local parish council. As a business, the farm has several electricity pylons directly on its fields (for which we receive no payment). We believe these are far more unsightly than a single wind turbine. We live 200 metres from our wind turbine, and noise is not an issue (we are in fact the closest residents to the wind turbine by 100 metres). Also, prevailing winds channel any potential noise away from the residential areas of Torksey and Brampton. The turbine cannot be seen from any public area in Brampton and from less than 15% of any homes, it is also not visible from Torksey village. In the last 12 months, our wind turbine has created enough energy to power any of the following for one year: • 39 homes • 249 60W lights • 4,520 laptop computers The Co2 offset is equivalent to: • 17 cars on the road for a year • 5 flights around the world • 28,186 newspapers Renewable energy may not be popular with everyone, but rather than burying our heads in the sand, we feel we are making some contribution by playing our part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Any concerned residents are warmly invited to contact us for more information and for a closer inspection of our wind turbine. We hope that balanced views, and even more importantly, accurate facts are conveyed in future editorials appearing in Trentside Links to avoid any misrepresentations and to prevent any undue distress to other members of our community. Ian Moulds, Grange farm, Torksey A reply from Richard Farley have had the opportunity to view Mr Mould’s response to my letter in the July edition of Trentside Links.
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The comments I made regarding Grange Farm were totally based on the fact that Brampton and in particular the properties at the southern end of the village, despite being the closest to Mr Mould’s wind turbine, were not consulted as part of the West Lindsey planning process. Indeed the first time the village became aware of the structure was during its construction. Unfortunately this lack of consultation is still felt strongly by the village residents. I have re-read my letter and see that it could be misinterpreted and I apologise for this but can assure Mr Moulds that I was not implying anything untoward on his part in the planning process and doubtless he was led by the requirements of the planning authority. Richard Farley, Brampton
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t the time of going to press a further planning application had been submitted for a 77m high turbine at Lincoln Lane Farm, Kettlethorpe. To view the application go to: http://www.westlindsey.gov.uk/residents/planning-andbuilding/view-applications-decisionsand-appeals/ and enter number 130061
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