For over two years we have been working towards achieving this decision. The journey has been long and arduous and deeply affected many resident’s lives.

Developments of this magnitude require more technical research and more opportunties to consult the communities in a more respectful and consultative way. Not just the odd village hall ‘open evening’ with inadequate paper questionnaires. It must be a community decision ensuring the right technology is in the right environment.

We are aware that this may not be the end of resident’s plight. The Applicant is a large corporation with substantial Parent Company financial backing. They have the funds to force an Appeal.

If an Appeal is successful it won’t be the Applicant or its employees that will have health and home affected by the decisions of others .

We will fight on.

VVASP is not against wind farms as a renewable energy source, we believe in the right renewable technology in the right environment. The Vale of Evesham is not the right environment for 410 feet/126m wind turbines.

NEWS RELEASE

Wychavon District Council has today published the planning report on the Lenchwick wind farm planning application.

The report will be considered at a special meeting of Wychavon District Council’s Development Control Committee on January 27. The report recommends members of the committee to refuse the application.

In summary, the reasons for the recommendation are:

• Landscape – the proposed wind turbines would lead to an unacceptable adverse impact on the character of the landscape and a visual intrusion
• Noise – the development would expose nearby residential properties like Manor Farm and Manor Farm Cottage to excessive and unreasonable levels of noise
• Residential amenity – the wind farm’s proximity to residential properties, including Badgers Sett, Manor Farm, Manor Farm Cottage and Garfield House, would create an overly imposing, dominating and oppressive visual effect
• Highways – the Highways Agency has concerns about the use of the M5 and the A46 to deliver the wind turbine components. Worcestershire County Council has also objected to the impact construction traffic would have on the maintenance of the existing highway.

The full planning report, including the full reasons for refusal, can be read at www.wychavon.gov.uk/planning.

The planning application, by ScottishPower Renewables, is for a wind farm on land east of Bishampton Bank.

The proposals include the erection of five 2.3 mega watt turbines measuring 126.5 metres to tip (80 metres to hub) and infrastructure including hardstandings, access tracks, compounds and a permanent meteorological mast.

ScottishPower Renewables is applying for permission to install and operate the wind farm for 25 years.

The Development Control Committee special meeting will be held on Thursday 27 January at 2.00pm in the Civic Centre at Pershore.

-Ends-

Relative Sizes of Lenchwick Wind Turbines with Broadway Tower, Pershore Abbey, Church Lench Church and Worcester Cathedral

At VVASP, we have consistently held the view that that this is an inappropriate location for the construction and operation of an Industrial Wind Power Station.

And, once again, the VVASP campaign to highlight the potentially damaging  visual impact is clearly vindicated in this, the second damning report of ScottishPower Renewables plans, the Environmental Impact Assesment and their processes for analysing and predicting the potential visual impact from the turbines.

The consultant’s report highlights numerous inconsistencies within the documents and ScottishPower Renewable’s contemptuous, arrogant and lackadaisical approach to presentation of the information, including ignoring Wychavon’s own directions, in their own words:

On ignoring Wychavon’s instructions:

"…  It is noted that this is to be subject to a separate design process and environmental assessment despite the Council in its scoping opinion stating that the impact of the scheme as a whole should be assessed. ”

commenting on the Photomontages, they say:

“The size of the images and wireframes in the ES appear to have been chosen for ease of fitting on an A3 size of paper, rather than accurately portraying the image.”

They also point out that the proposal will have significant adverse impact on the area and indeed would breach a number of policies including ENV1, CTC1, and CTC2

“The windfarm would be out of scale with and unsympathetic to the local landscape, such that its character would not be safeguarded, restored or enhanced by the proposed development. The proposal is therefore inappropriate to and will not integrate with local landscape character and is thus, in our opinion, contrary to policy ENV1 of the Wychavon Local Plan and policy CTC1 of the Worcestershire Structure Plan."

and they highlight quite a few significant effects including:

“.. there will be significant effects of the proposed development on some views from and on the setting of the Registered Park and Garden at Rous Lench Court (Grade II*). In our opinion there could also be significant effects on views from and on the setting of Ragley Hall Registered Park and Garden (Grade II*).

As we have said all along, this is an inappropriate location

We strongly advise everyone to download and read this report in full.

To download it, Click Here

The VVASP campaign to highlight the potential impact of noise from the planed industrial wind power generating plant is clearly vindicated in this damning report of ScottishPower Renewables plans, the Environmental Impact Assesment and their processes for analysing and predicting the potential impact of noise from the turbines.

The consultant’s report highlights numerous omissions, incorrect assumptions and inadequate assessments,  in their own words:

“It is apparent that there are numerous issues that need to be addressed and resolved before the suitability of the proposed wind farm should be considered for approval. In the absence of further information, the data presented thus far indicates the development is unsuitable in terms of the resulting noise likely to arise.”

We strongly advise everyone to download and read this report in full.

To download it, Click Here

To be known as the  “Wind Turbines (Minimum Distances from Residential Premises) Act 2010”, it makes provision for a minimum distance between wind turbines and residential premises according to the size of the wind turbine; and for connected purposes.

In essence, it says that

No relevant authority may grant planning permission for the construction of a wind turbine generator unless it meets the minimum distance requirement.

unless

“The owners of ALL residential premises which fall within the minimum distance requirement for the proposed wind turbine generator MUST AGREE IN WRITING to the construction of the wind turbine generator.” Also small turbines under 25m to highest blade tip are exempt.

and it sets out those distances as:

If the height of the wind turbine generator is 
  (a) greater than 25m, but does not exceed 50m, the minimum distance requirement is 1000m;
  (b) greater than 50m, but does not exceed 100m, the minimum distance requirement is 1500m;
  (c) greater than 100m, but does not exceed 150m, the minimum distance requirement is 2000m;
  (d) greater than 150m, the minimum distance requirement is 3000m.

In essence this would put an immediate stop to the proposal of ScottishPower Renewables to construct 415 ft (40 storey high) alien structures in the Vale.

You can access the bill directly from the Government sited dedicated to this bill here: Click Here

Or download the bill from here: Right Click and ‘Save As’

“Confidence has been lost in the ETSU model”

4th June 2010
See original post here: http://www.cieh.org/ehn/ehn3.aspx?id=31194

The Department of Energy and Climate Change has commissioned fresh research on wind farm noise. The move, which has been welcomed by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) , comes despite ministerial assurances earlier this year that there were no plans to change the existing guidance on assessing and rating wind farm noise.

The guidance has become increasing controversial. Howard Price, CIEH principal policy officer, said: ‘The guidance currently in use, ETSU-R-97, is now more than 13 years old. It was developed before the current generation of large turbines began to be built and has had to modified unofficially in practice.’

Mr Price said that, despite its limitations, the guidance is referred to in the draft national policy statement for renewable energy, released last November. As an official consultee, the CIEH warned that future decisions based on ETSU would be unsafe.

Former energy minister, Lord Hunt, wrote last October in support of the use of ETSU-R-97 and junior minister David Kidney repeated in February that it gave ‘a reasonable degree of protection to wind farm neighbours’.

However, said Mr Price, it seems officials were already drafting specifications for new research. Two research tenders, one to analyse how noise impacts of wind farms are considered in planning and another to reassess the evidence base on reported noise complaints, were issued before the general election.

Mr Price added: ‘Confidence has been lost in the ETSU model and it is good that this has now been recognised. ‘Neither the government nor the energy providers could afford to risk planning consents being overturned because they were based on inadequate guidance. Hopefully, something everyone agrees on will emerge soon.’

There is a lot of information, you do not need to include all of it. 

They key thing is that there are only certain reasons that can be used for an objection to be valid so please read the model letter carefully.

Most important is to just put in a few comments about the topics that are of most concern to you.

It is important that you get your letter written before July 23rd and to us (or posted to Wychavon) by July 24th

Objections are valid for each and every house member over the age of 16.

So please remember to send a separate letter from each and everyone over 16. Each one counts separately. If you sign the letter jointly, it only counts as one.

Also remember to ask your family, friends and neighbours to do the same.

To ensure that letters are properly counted by Wychavon we have arranged for you to be able to drop the letters off locally and we will then take them to Wychavon and get a receipt for it.

‘Right Click’ and ‘Save As’ :  Objection Template Letter for the Planning Application

If you wish to object online, go here (Click on ‘Comment on Application’, then remember to select the ‘Object’ radio button)

http://bit.ly/ObjectToPlanningApplication

Our local letter drops are:

Driftway, Evesham Road, Church Lench (Through the door NOT the outside letter box) and

The Old Chapel, Atch Lench, WR11 4SW (in the box on the wall)

If you need your letter collected please let us know – call Rod on 07929 671019 or your village rep click here: Village Reps

Many thanks for your support.

Kind regards,

Rod Stroud and The VVASP team.

Wind farm shut over safety fears after 150ft turbine blade falls off

Mar 23 2010 Exclusive by Ben Spencer @ – The Daily Record

Broken turbine at Whitelee Wind Farm

EUROPE’S largest wind farm ground to a halt after a 150ft blade snapped off one of the turbines.

All 140 of the giant machines were immediately shut down at the £300million development near Glasgow until they could be inspected.

Engineers at Whitelee wind farm, which is run by ScottishPower Renewables, were trying to work out why the blade came crashing down.

They are looking into whether lightning could have struck the turbine or if it was caused by a mechanical problem.

It sheared off and hit the ground in the early hours of Friday morning in blustery conditions.

Automatic systems alerted operators in the control room to the damage and they immediately closed down the unit.

All 420 blades in the wind farm were being examined following the accident.

Last night, more than 50 turbines were expected to have been inspected and safely returned to operation.

The process is expected to be completed by Friday.

Whitelee wind farm’s visitor centre, which is managed by Glasgow Science Centre and had been due to reopen after the winter break yesterday, stayed shut.

German company Siemens, who supplied the turbines, are also understood to be investigating.

The 360ft turbines are so massive that engineers have been able to climb inside them to try to detect the problem.

Over the weekend, the site at Eaglesham Moor, 13 miles from Glasgow city centre, was cordoned off to keep visitors away. Raymond Toms, 45, a teacher from East Kilbride, spotted the broken turbine as he cycled past on Sunday.

He said: "I was out for a bike ride and I saw one of the massive blades had broken clean off. It was quite unnerving really.

"You can walk right up to these things normally and touch them.

"The public have access to the network of pathways nearby.

"I have grave concerns over the safety of the public, who can walk right up to the turbines.

"It’s worrying that if one of these could fall off then perhaps another one could.

"It’s made me think about going too close, that’s for sure. It’s just lucky this took place at night, when nobody was around."

Keith Anderson, managing director of ScottishPower Renewables, said: "This type of incident is exceptionally rare and highly unusual.

"However, the safety of our people and the public is our first priority.

"While the investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing, our engineers continue to conduct an internal and external examination of all turbine blades at the wind farm".

A spokesman for the firm added: "Investigations are ongoing, and a number of possibilities including mechanical failure and lightning strike are being considered.

"Operators in the 24-hour control room immediately closed the turbine down.

"This is a highly unusual situation. I’ve not heard of this kind of incident happening in 30 years."

GREEN ENERGY WINDWASH and BRIBERY

Last week, it was revealed that community groups in East Renfrewshire are to benefit from a fund set up from the development of Whitelee.

The fund will deliver about £140,000 a year for the next 25 years to the area’s council for local groups.

Borderer24 wrote:

The Scottish Power spokesman must have had his head in the sand if he is is really claiming that, "I’ve not heard of this kind of incident happening in 30 years."
Turbines shed blades and experience them delaminating and breaking up with monotonous regularity, all over the world.
In the UK there have been numerous examples. I have read of accidents at Crystal Rig (2005), Oldside (2006), Blyth Offshore, Conisholme (2009), Sheffield University (2009) and many, many more.
It has even happened twice at one windfarm in Cornwall, in 1993 and 2006. There have also been a good few turbine collapses and turbine fires. Examples of turbines being shut down with blade problems prior to them coming apart are even more common.
A Dutch company whose core business is blade repair admits that, "Rotor blade lightning damage is a common problem" (NGup Rotor Blades).
See the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum for a ‘Summary of Wind Turbine Accident data’ to 31 December 2009.

Borderer24 wrote:

‘TURBINE BLADE BREAKS TWICE IN 15 MONTHS’
The Telegraph, 10 Oct 2009.
"A blade on a wind turbine in Sheffield has broken in strong winds for the second time in 15 months."

Other instances show blades/parts of blades can travel hundreds of metres:

"Brieske [Brandenburg, Germany], 3 July 2009. Lightning strike caused the catastrophic break up of a 40m turbine blade. Large pieces of blade flew for about 150 meters, landing about 50 meters from federal highway 169."

"Sidinge, in Denmark, sent a blade flying more than 300ft before it hit the ground."

"A 19 metre piece of the wing was thrown 200 metres away." Witness to catastrophic break up of blade and collapse of turbine tower in Denmark (Live Leak video no. 1203701257).

Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm. Blade break up: " 140 feet long, about 14 feet wide and weighing about 7 tons, according to the company."
"It’s something the size of a yacht flying through the air," [...] One piece was thrown more than 500 feet before coming down through the trees."

23/3/2010 4:48 PM GMT on dailyrecord.co.uk

original article here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/greenpolitics/planning/6803823/Wind-turbine-noise-warnings-were-dismissed-by-civil-servants.html

Consultants recommended lowering night-time noise limits because the sounds made by spinning blades were enough to disrupt sleep patterns.

However, the advice, contained in a draft version of their 2006 report, was removed from the final submission which was eventually used in official guidance for local authorities ruling on planning applications from wind farm developers.

It means that hundreds of turbines at wind farms in Britain built since 2006 have been allowed to continue generating high levels of noise.

Evidence of the changed advice was uncovered after a two-year battle using the Freedom of Information Act by campaigners opposed to a wind turbine development close to their home at in mid-Devon.

One of those campaigners, Mike Hulme, said: “This proves what we have been saying all along, that the noise guidelines should be reviewed. They haven’t changed substantially since 1997, in which time the design of turbines has changed and the number of wind farms has increased.

“Turbines used to be about 50 feet and now they are closer to 400 feet.

"Residents are afraid to complain to their council because the problem is then in the public domain and it becomes impossible to sell their house."

The noise warnings were made in a draft report by Hayes McKenzie Partnership (HMP).

It was commissioned by the Department for Trade and Industry, since replaced by the Department for Energy and Climate Change, following a 2004 article in The Daily Telegraph that identified wind turbines at a Cornish wind farm as giving rise to health problems associated with low frequency noise emissions.

It said the sound caused by “aerodynamic modulation” – the rhythmic ‘whump whump’ of the blades – was enough to disturb the sleep of nearby residents, creating an "adverse" impact on their health, and recommended the night noise limited be cut from 43 decibels to 38.

However, an anonymous government official then inserted remarks querying the impact of the proposed change. “What will the impact of this be?,” the civil servant wrote. “Are we saying that this is the situation for all wind farms … I think we need a sense of the scale of this and the impact.”

The final report removed any suggestion of cutting the noise limits or adding any further penalty if turbines generated a beating noise — and recommended local authorities to stick to the 1996 guidelines.

Britain has 253 land-based wind farms generating 3.5 gigawatts, but this is expected to double or even triple by 2020 to help to meet targets for cutting CO2 emissions.

A spokesman for the DECC denied officials had put pressure on the consultants to remove the noise warnings.

He added: "Noise impacts are an aspect which is considered within the planning process before any decision is taken whether or not to grant consent to a project."

Thanks to The Daily Telegraph for this report