November 3, 2005
Brent Knoll residents form action group to fight wind farm plans
An action group has been formed to oppose the proposed development of a wind farm between Burnham-On-Sea and Brent Knoll.
The action group, which is called ‘kNOll to Windfarm’, has been created by concerned residents of Brent Knoll.
It comes just a week after Ecotricity unveiled plans to build five 65 metre turbines on land at Edithmead to produce enough electricity for 8,000 homes.
While the proposals are supported by some residents in the area, others have concerns about the potential environmental, safety, economic and social impacts of the proposals.
In a statement this week, a spokesman for the ‘kNOll to Windfarm’ group said: “The action group wishes to ensure that a robust debate is held concerning the potential impact of the proposals by clearly making a strong case against the proposals.”
“We will seek to achieve this through attempting to make everyone aware of the proposals, researching the issues associated with such developments and making this research available to concerned parties, lobbying local, regional and national politicians and making formal representations to the planning authorities.”
“Naturally, people are very concerned about the potential impact of such a scheme, which is close to residential areas and social amenities including a school, as well as being sited in a highly visible location within a historic landscape.”
“When people search the Web for information on such developments elsewhere in the UK and the world, and see that concerns are raised about the health implications of such schemes, the negative effects on local economies, noise generation, the huge visual impact, and also the power generating merits of such schemes questioned, it is not surprising they are worried, and want to know more.”
Meanwhile, Ecotricity is planning to hold an open day at Burnham’s Scout HQ on Tuesday November 15th between 10.30am and 8pm, when residents of the area can find out more and make up their own minds about the plans.
RELATED LINKS:
Huge new wind farm proposed for Edithmead
Council leader slams plans for wind farm
