|
Energy giant Npower-renewables, part of RWE
Group, is proposing to construct 8 massive wind turbines,
up to 127m (416ft high) - amongst the largest in the
UK - at Cotton Farm on the plateau overlooking the Ouse
Valley in Cambridgeshire.
This website is run by a campaign group comprising
residents from the surrounding villages of Graveley,
Toseland, Great Paxton, Offord Cluny, Offord D'Arcy
and Yelling. Its purpose is to provide information for
local residents. The group's detailed objections to
the proposal are set out on the Objections
page.
If, once you have considered the information on this
website, you are opposed to the proposed wind farm,
please visit the Support
page to register your views.
If you are still undecided but would like to discuss
the issues further or find out more, please contact
one of your village representatives (contact
details) or contact Bev Gray on 01480 830868.
We also welcome any general comments, views, information
for the website etc - please visit the Feedback
page.
|
 |
The turbines would be enormous, completely out of scale
with anything else in the landscape. They would be visible
up to 30km away. To appreciate how tall 127m is, note
that St Paul's Cathedral is only 108m (354 ft), Ely Catherdal
is 66m (215 ft) and the wind turbine at Wood Green is
a mere 43m (141 ft). They would be 27m (74 ft) higher
than the turbines at Kettering and Warboys. |
|
The wind farm would drastically change and industrialise
an otherwise rural landscape. The site, was used as
an airfield in WW2, but the runways were removed more
than 35 years ago and it has since reverted to "green
field" arable farmland. The sense of space and
tranquillity, with wide skies and uninterrupted views
across the Ouse Valley would be lost to the detriment
of all those who enjoy the landscape – including
walkers, cyclists and riders. |
|
The Scottish Executive now supports
2km as a separation distance between turbines and the
edge of villages to allow for the visual impact on local
communities (lesser distances being justified only on
a case-by-case basis). (Scottish
Planning Policy SPP 6 Renewable Energy) Unfortunately,
there is currently no such provision in England. |
|
Noise day and night, both in terms of volume and the
particular type of sound generated is a serious concern
- especially with houses as close as 600m away. |
|
The rotors turn at around 15-30 rpm but the blade tips
can be travelling at around 200mph. These can easily kill
or displace birds and bats, including those visiting the
important migration site at Paxton
Pits Nature Reserve - only 2.5km away. |
|
According to the BBC's online
"wind-farm assessment tool", 590 houses may
experience interference with transmissions from Sandy
Heath and Waltham. A joint report
(PDF format) by the BBC
and Ofcom confirms that "Wind turbines affect reception
up to a maximum distance of 5 km", "it is often
impossible to avoid such problems completely" and
that "both analogue and digital terrestrial reception
can be affected." There may also be effects on radio
and mobile phones. |
|
There are many horses within 1km of the turbines and
riders are a daily feature of local roads and bridleways.
Sun flickering on metal rotors can easily "spook"
a horse - with potentially dangerous consequences for
riders and other road users. |
|
Construction and commissioning would take 12 months.
During that time huge quantities of ready-mixed concrete
would be delivered - potentially 25-30 deliveries a day
- with predictable consequences for road surfaces and
traffic. |
|
House prices and saleability are also a concern. Would
you prefer to buy a rural house in a village with eight
of the biggest wind turbines in Britain looming over it
or one in a rural village without the turbines? |
|
Perhaps most worrying is that there are plenty of
examples where the grant of planning approval for a
wind farm "opens up" the area for further
wind farm development. If 600m from the nearest village
is seen as acceptable then one can imagine many "suitable"
sites along the high ground between here and Cambridge
- with the devastation to the landscape which that would
entail.
|
"
… But We Have To Do Something About Climate Change
...” |
|
True. Nobody disputes that renewable energy is a good
thing. It's not a question of whether or not wind farms
should be built; it's a question of whether the benefits
of locating this sort of wind farm specifically at Cotton
Farm are sufficient to overrule some very real negative
impacts - particularly on the landscape and character
of the area.
|
|
In reality, on-shore wind power is not going to solve
the climate change problem. It is a relatively inefficient
means of generating electricity - turbines only operate
when the wind is between around 10 and 56 mph. Total electricity
produced is only about 25-27% of their potential. |
|
The impact on reducing CO2
emissions has been controversial. In 2007, claims made
by Npower in this regard were found by the Advertising
Standards Authority to be in breach of their rules relating
to "truthfulness", "substantiation"
and "environmental claims" -
[source - ASA
website]. |
|
The point, in relation to Cotton Farm, is that the
positive environmental contribution of the eight turbines
to greener energy is too small to justify the negative
environmental impact on this part of the Cambridgeshire
landscape.
|
"...
But Npower-Renewables Clearly Think It's Worth Building..." |
The main incentive for such developers are the huge subsidies
available. According to new industry figures quoted in the
Sunday Times [see 27 Jan 2008 Sunday
Times article],
eight 2MW turbines would generate around:
- £1.6m a year revenue from electricity and
- £2.4m a year in taxpayer subsidies for the developer.
With a proposed operating life of 25 years the initial cost
of around £2m per turbine would be recouped in 4 years
leaving many years of healthy profit.
As Peter Atherton, head utilities analyst at Citi Investment
Research, told the FT: "It's a bonanza. Anyone who can
get their nose in the trough is trying to." [Financial
Times - 4 Feb 2008]
The whole policy of subsidies is coming under increasing
criticism but while they remain there is every incentive for
a developer, such as Npower, to overstate the benefits and
underrate the drawbacks of building new wind farms in particular
locations.
[For a useful analysis listen to the BBC Radio 4 "Costing
the Earth" programme - click
here
For more detailed information
on all of the above points please visit the Objections
page.
To register your opposition and
to find out more about what you can do, visit
the Support page.
If you are still undecided but
would like to discuss the issues further or find
out more, please contact one of your village representatives
(contact details) or
contact Bev Gray (contact
details). (Contact details for Npower are
also included on our Contacts
page). |
|
|
|
 Andrew
Lansley MP backs Wind Farm objectors.
Andrew Lansley CBE, MP for South Cambridgeshire, has
told objectors to the proposed Cotton Farm Wind Farm,
for which an application to Huntingdonshire District
Council is expected shortly, that he will join with
his colleague, Jonathan Djanogly MP (Huntingdonshire)
in opposing it.
Andrew Lansley said,
“Wind turbines can make a useful contribution
to renewable energy but they must be well sited. The
proposal at Cotton Farm would be highly visually intrusive.
It would dominate rural and landscape views over the
Ouse Valley and views from villages like Graveley.
A major concern is the issue of noise. Low-frequency
noise, especially at night, from turbines means that
they must not be located close to people’s homes.
The Scottish Executive supports a 2 kilometre separation
distance. However, Cotton Farm turbines would be just
600 metres from the nearest properties in Graveley.
There are on-shore and, increasingly, off-shore sites
for wind farms which are far better options for both
efficient energy generation and in terms of environmental
impacts.
It makes no sense to damage the environment in this
part of Cambridgeshire, which will be stressed enough
with the rate of development we are accommodating.
The Government’s renewables obligation is distorting
the energy market and encouraging speculative bids for
wind farms in sites which do not satisfy best overall
environmental criteria.
So, if an application is submitted, I will join with
my constituents in Graveley and my Parliamentary colleague
in opposing it.”
6th May 2008 - Click
for Press Release in PDF format.
|
Please
Sign Downing Street Petition
"We the undersigned petition the Prime
Minister to establish an automatic buffer zone of at
least 2 km between any new industrial size wind turbine
and any home." -
Click here to sign the petition and please encourage
as many others as possible to do so too. (The 2km buffer
has found support in the Scottish Executive - see
below - but not yet in England).
Accident
with Aeroplane Destroys Action Group Blimp
 The
Action Group's 20ft "Stop the Wind Farm" blimp
flew over Great Paxton on May 10, but only for ten minutes
before what seems to have been a collision with an aeroplane
ruptured the blimp and it fell to the ground. The plane
is thought to have been flying below the 500ft limit
since the blimp was tethered at 417ft – the height
of the wind turbines proposed for Cotton Farm.
Nevertheless, a replacement blimp was soon flying and
could be seen from many miles away with clear sightings
from Hail Weston and all along the Ouse Valley Way.
See press
release for more details and keep an eye on the
website for forthcoming flying dates.
What the proposed turbines might look like in
action
This photo-montage, put together by one of our supporters,
shows what the turbines might look like working.
[Scale calculations not yet
verified]
|
T Shirts For Sale |
| Colour: |
White |
| Sizes: |
M, L & XL
(S subject to demand) |
| Design: |
Small logo on the front |
| Cost: |
£7 (+pp if reqd).
Collection or local delivery free |
Contact:
Jeff Tossell
01480 880441
jhtossell@yahoo.co.uk
|
|
Latest Newsletter
14.3.08 - click
here (PDF)
Latest Press Release
02.05.08 - Click
here (PDF)
Print a Poster
see below
Help Distribute Leaflets
see below
Register Support
click here
Feedback
We welcome your feedback, ideas and comments - click
here
 |
Please Write to Protest!
Please write to your parish councillors,
district councillor, MP
and to the planning officer at HDC. Letters
to Planning Services should not be sent before the planning
application has been submitted as they need to include
the application reference number. Letters sent before
the application is submitted will need to be sent again
post-submission, with the reference number on. We will
post the correct contact and application number on this
website once they are available.
If you want to write to your parish councillors, district
councillor and MP, please do that now. Letters from individual
residents are influential and the more letters received,
the stronger our case becomes. There are a range of issues
that you can cover, but the ones that are considered ‘material’
for planning purposes are noise
pollution, visual impact,
problems for wildlife
and impacts on the settings
of listed buildings. In the light of recent turbine
collapses, safety issues may also be relevant, especially
for residents whose houses are closest to the proposed
turbines. Your letter need not be very long -
the main point is to register your objection.
Although many people will feel strongly about issues such
as house saleability and the scandal of high indirect
subsidies, these are not considered to be relevant planning
issues and, while letters can mention them, comments on
one or more of the ‘material’ issues listed
above must also be included. Shadow flicker may be a problem
for some homes, but as Npower now say they can install
sensors on turbines that will switch them off at the times
of day during which shadow flicker has been identified
as a problem, this is not a strong weapon in our armoury.
Please click here for the relevant
mailing addresses |
 Print
Your Own Poster
click
here to download a poster you can print (PDF
format).
Alternatively, collect A4 or A3 posters from Jeff Tossell
(address).
Beware of vandals – many posters have been ripped
down and some placards stolen, so please store any placards
from your garden in your shed, etc, at night.
|
 Health
& Safety Concerns
Wind
turbine destroyed by storm - see what can happen
if the wind gets too strong! - YouTube
- 22.2.2008
See Objections page
for more
|
| For More News
- see News page |
 Back
to Top
|
|
