Page 6 - Phonebox Magazine December 2007

DAVID SHEPHERD CARPENTER & JOINER
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6 Phonebox Magazine
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HAVE YOUR SAY
Letters
Dear Editor
Hopefully this will be the last month in which there is correspondence debating the cynically named Milton Keynes Wind Farm near Emberton. I noted that last month that Mr Baxter was keen to paint those of us that oppose the local wind farms as denying that climate change is an issue. That is certainly not true and I am very concerned about the issue.
Rather than trying to bully other people into paying the price for my consumption, I have taken personal action and, amongst other things, have ensured that my home is properly insulated and that my boiler is efficient. The net result is that I now use 30% less gas than I did four years ago despite having extended my home. That is a real carbon reduction.
I was amused that Mr Baxter was also keen to pour scorn on other low-carbon technologies to make it look like wind is the only answer. It is as if he has a vested interest. The case for wind power in an area where even a renewable energy expert has said it is inappropriate is perhaps the weakest of all. Wind farms are as notorious for not delivering on their promises as they are for being neighbours from hell. The claims that I have seen made for the Emberton wind farm have all been unrealistic having been highly spun. However, the developer has been careful to ensure that they have not been made in a forum where they can officially be challenged.
The real problem, however, is that all the local wind farm applications are simply bad applications. They are the equivalent of proposing a tower block on Olney market place to solve the need for affordable homes in Milton Keynes. The developers have made no concessions to anything other than maximising their profits. They have chosen the largest turbines that have yet been approved onshore and want to site them as near to homes as possible without breaching the basic planning rules. They show no regard for local communities or local businesses and offer almost nothing to the local communities in return for destroying the environment in which they live or operate. They are driven by greed and not sound science.
Unfortunately this approach seems to be the norm for wind farm applications and it is because of this that there is such strong local opposition to them. It seems that the developers cannot resist the prospect of making huge profits and restrain themselves from pushing every application to the limit. The only way to stop this long, drawn out battle is for the government to change the planning rules to properly protect local communities. Developers would then come up with more appropriate proposals that would sail through the planning system with little opposition.
Large-scale wind farms are not the only option – they are just the only option that makes large profits for big business. Home turbines may be ineffective, but mid-scale, vertical axis turbines such as the one recently approved at Caroline Hasslet School in Milton Keynes show great promise. These turbines are designed to operate in our lower wind speeds and are much smaller than the giants proposed for both Petsoe Manor and Nun Wood. Because of this and the fact that they are quiet by design, there are thousands of potential sites for them – including mini-wind farms on the roofs of car parks and office blocks where they would not even be noticed!
We can generate electricity from wind without having to destroy our countryside and the living environment of local residents, so why not pursue acceptable solutions instead of trying to force unacceptable ones on unsurprisingly unwilling residents?
Brian Skittrall, BLOT Chairman