Letter: Could wind turbines take over south Northants?
Modern day windmill
A reader weighs in on our story about windfarms in Northants.
The front page story on the Brackley and Towcester Advertiser (Is county ‘wind farm capital’, January 27) – rightly reported the growing concern over the scale of wind farm development in Northants.
The biggest issue is the cumulative impact of all these developments with a hugely disproportionate number being planned for the county (despite it being one of the least windy parts of the country). At the present rate it won’t be long before every part of the Northants landscape is studded with turbines. As the CPRE have highlighted, local planning decisions rejecting wind farms - which are made after much detailed consideration of all the issues for and against – are being overturned time and time again by planning inspectors.
These apparently arbitrary and anti-democratic judgements are concerned with meeting national government targets around renewable energy to the detriment of local interests.
We are constantly being told this Government supports localism, but in practice there is little evidence of local voices being heard.
While Helmdon prepares to fight the appeal over Spring Ridge Farm, the Tove Action Group is also strengthening its campaign against the likely plans for eight 126-metre industrial turbines being installed between Alderton and Towcester racecourse. The impact of these giants on the local rural landscape would be devastating. The development would do nothing for the economy and would blight an already depressed housing market.
It is time for the coalition government to change its approach to planning and to revise the subsidies which continue to encourage opportunistic wind farm development regardless of efficiency considerations.
Melanie Henwood, via email
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Weather for Buckingham
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Comments
There are 1 comments to this article
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norfolkboy14
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 10:27 AMWe need to get the Government onside, as well as local councils and others, if we are going to stop these wind turbines being built. Are you disillusioned by rising electricity prices, over dependence on the "green" dream [especially uneconomical and inefficient wind farms] and the destruction of our countryside then please register your objection to the Government by googling "petition 22958" and following the link. Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too. If you are really concerned about wind turbines please write a letter promoting this petition to the Editors of your local newspapers.
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