Councillors reject wind farm plans

Proposals to develop a wind farm on the coast of Essex were turned down in dramatic fashion by councillors. The firm behind the wind energy scheme was Npower Renewables.

Npower Renewables had put in an application to develop 5 wind energy turbines each rising to a height of four hundred and ten feet. A substation was also to be built nearby.
The wind farm and substation proposal was however met by protests from the locals. A pressure group known as South Tendring Acting to Protect Our Local Environment was formed to lead the opposition to the scheme.

The planning committee members of the Tendring District Council however arranged a meeting and even though the officers of the council were all for the wind farm and had made a recommendation to that effect the councillors unanimously voted against the project in front of one hundred and eighty civilians who were watching the goings on.

The Member of Parliament for Harwich and Clacton, Douglas Carswell, expressed his pleasure at the decision arguing that there was no need of developing wind energy projects on shore when it was better done offshore. He added that developing wind farms onshore would have a great effect on the locals since the wind turbines were giant ones which were not eco-friendly at all.

Other reasons which the councillors gave for voting against the wind energy scheme included the noise the turbines would generate as well as the visual impact on the landscape. They also claimed that the wind turbines would affect the reception of television sets in the area.

www.npower-renewables.com