December 18, 2005
Property prices will be hit by wind farm, claims pressure group
The group fighting a proposed wind farm on the outskirts of Burnham-On-Sea has released the findings of a survey which appear to back up claims that property prices in the area will be hit if the development goes ahead.
The ‘kNOll to Windfarm’ action group says a 2004 study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) demonstrates that the Edithmead development would be bad for property prices in the area.
The RICS study on the impact of wind farms on property values found that, on average, 60 per cent of chartered surveyors with experience of house transactions near to such farms report they negatively impact house prices. In the south west, this rises to a high of 77 per cent.
The study adds: “The purpose of the study is not to endorse or criticize wind technology, but rather to gauge professional property opinion about its impact on both residential property and agricultural land values.”
“The study focussed on those responses from surveyors with experiences of property transactions affected by wind farms, analyzing the data at both national and regional levels.”
Andrew Manning, spokesman for KNOll to Windfarm, says: “The findings are clear to us. Property values are likely to fall as a result of the proposed commercial wind development at Inner Farm.”
“What is particularly worrying to us is that many wind farms in the UK are located in areas where there are relatively few residential properties, not close to towns and villages such as Burnham and Brent Knoll, where there are far more properties to be affected.”
“The big question for the residents of Burnham-On-Sea, Brent Knoll and their surrounds must surely therefore be not whether values will fall, but by how much?”
Ecotricity, the Gloucestershire-based company behind the proposals, is preparing to submit a planning application for the turbines which will produce enough electricity to power 8,000 homes. It is the third wind farm proposed for the area.
RELATED LINKS:
Wind farm group pushes green agenda
Ecotricity holds wind farm open day
New action group formed to fight wind farm
Council leader slams plans for wind farm
Huge new wind farm proposed for Edithmead
Ecotricity Web site
