Angry campaigners fighting a proposed wind farm on the outskirts of Burnham-On-Sea say new images released by the developer are “misleading and unrepresentative”.
Energy firm Broadview wants to build four 130-metre tall wind turbines, each as tall as Brent Knoll, on land at Pilrow Farm south of Rooksbridge.
The campaign group NoPilrow says that it believes that the panoramic montages produced by Broadview Energy are both “misleading and unrepresentative of the actual view that will be seen by local residents.”
The group’s David Maund told Burnham-On-Sea.com said that most of the images are viewed from a distance and “do not represent the enormous visual impact and environmental damage that would be caused to the area.”
He added: “We have taken specialist advice regarding these montages and have been told that they ‘should be viewed with the image curved around one’s head’! Local residents do not look for complicated photo trickery, they simply wish to see the visual effect this wind farm will have on the outlook from their houses, as well as from the surrounding areas.”
“We have taken these montages as shown on the Broadview Energy Website and had them converted to single-frame images with a 75mm focal length. These images can be viewed flat on a computer screen and are in a format that everyone is familiar with. It is obvious that the effects will be far worse than the situation Broadview is trying to project.”
“In addition we at NoPilrow and local people generally are very concerned that they have not seen a single montage produced from the gardens of residents who will have a direct outlook onto the wind farm site; including those residents in the Mudgely Road area of Rooksbridge, the houses all along Old Bristol Road and A370 in East Brent and the houses along the A38 where all will have clear views over flat open countryside of these 400+ ft monstrosities.”
David continued: “These montages should have been produced a long time ago in a simple clear format. I am in no doubt that the residents will be horrified when the real implications hit home and they are faced with the true representation of views from their homes. It seems to me that the only logical explanation for Broadview’s lack of relevant material is that they are only too aware of the enormous significant visual impact this wind farm will generate. Many residents from Mark, Rooksbridge and East Brent have asked how this industrial site will affect their house and it is clearly Broadview’s responsibility to answer these concerns.”
NoPilrow are holding several fund raising events in the coming weeks, including a fun horse racing night on Friday 27th April in Mark Village Hall, which at £10 per head will include a pig roast. For further details, call 07921 220343.
