Attached is some guidance for writing a letter of objection to the turbine proposal from SPR.

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.

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.’

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

Environmental Protection UK has called on the government urgently to update its advice on how local authorities gauge the effect of noise from wind turbines.

Peter Luff has long been calling for a toughening up of the current guidelines governing how close wind turbines can be built to people’s homes.  In the last session of parliament he introduced legislation on the issue.

Peter said,

“As my Ten Minute Rule Bill – the Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation) Bill -demonstrated there is a problem because the current regulations just don’t deal with the huge wind turbines now being proposed.

“My concerns, prompted by the proposed wind farm between Church Lench and Bishampton, were primarily about visual issues. Having these monsters virtually in your back garden just isn’t acceptable.

“But now we have new expert evidence that noise is indeed a big issue too, just as local campaigners have been saying. As it stands, the system just isn’t adequately protecting residents.”   

“I am writing to the planning minister urging him to adopt my bill as government policy and I hope to raise it in the Commons today.  Environmental Protection UK has reinforced what we all know as common sense: these huge new wind turbines, up to 125m tall, are too big to be as close to people’s homes as the existing policy allows.”

Wind turbine noise rules ‘dated’

The government urgently needs to update its guidance on how local authorities should assess the impact of noise from wind turbines.

Environmental Protection UK say turbines are now so large, the noise generated by the turning blades can affect those living nearby.

The pressure group believes that changes in technology are not being reflected in the current guidelines.

The government says it is continuing research into the impact of noise.

Radical overhaul

Experts working for the group say the government guidelines on acceptable noise levels for wind turbines were due for revision 11 years ago and there has been little sign that changes in wind turbine technology is reflected in these rules.

They add that this guidance was designed for structures of about 90ft (27m) in height, but some applications for wind farms include turbines that are at least three times higher.

The group says that current guidance assumes that background noise at ground level, such as the rustling of leaves, would help mask the noise of the blades turning.

Turbines are becoming so big, the group says, that any masking effect on the ground could be cancelled out.

Environmental Protection UK argue the rules need a radical overhaul, otherwise applications for new wind farms are in danger of being rejected.

See original article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8379970.stm

Footnote:
Environmental Protection UK is the environmental protection charity supported by pollution control professionals. We have been working for a cleaner, quieter, healthier world since 1898.

Environmental Protection UK campaigns to minimise noise pollution – as well as reducing air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases.

It is supported by the UK government, Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency

A piece of legislation to control the distance between wind farms and the nearest house is to be introduced into the Commons next month

Legislation backs VVASP campaign for a 2Km No Zone

Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, who has been working with residents on the proposed Lenches/Bishampton wind farm in his constituency, will introduce the “Onshore Wind Turbines (Proximity of Habitation) Bill” on November 3rd.

Using the so-called 10 minute rule procedure, Peter will speak for up to ten minutes, making the case for his bill to proceed to the next stage.

Peter explained,

“It is my limited intention to raise the aesthetic and environmental concerns associated with large wind turbines when they are located too close to homes.
“I happen to be a keen exponent of alternative and renewable energy sources, but feel strongly that onshore wind farms are only appropriate where their visual and environmental impact on open countryside is acceptable.

“Government policy on this issue is vague, giving little protection to local communities who have legitimate objections to the building of these turbines in their area. The companies appear to comply with a voluntary 500m “buffer zone” but this has no legal force.

“The onshore wind turbines proposed for the Lenches are 125m high – the equivalent of a forty storey building and half as high again as Big Ben – but will be located around 650 metres from houses. There is uproar in the affected villages!

“I had originally suggested a blanket one kilometre buffer zones, but after talking to local residents and my colleagues in the Commons, I will propose that smaller turbines should be at least 0.5 of a mile from habitation, medium sized ones a mile, and the largest turbines 1.5 miles.

“I hope that imposing these limits would lead to those applications coming forward being inherently less objectionable and therefore attracting less local opposition.

“It is a limited measure that makes no judgement about the merits of onshore wind, or on the bigger issues of climate change and targets for green energy. You can take whatever view you like on these issues and still see merit in my bill!

“It’s just intended to reduce the risks of these turbines being built unreasonably close to homes – unless, of course, the affected homes wanted them (perhaps because it is on their land and they will benefit financially).”

Tuesday 22nd September 2009

The huge wind turbines proposed for the site between Bishampton and the Lenches would be “just too close to people’s homes” says the local MP Peter Luff.

Mr Luff was speaking after visiting the public exhibition organised by Scottish Power Renewables at Norton and Lenchwick parish hall last night (Monday).
Peter explained,

“I believe there should be an absolute bar on building large commercial wind turbines closer than a kilometre to people’s homes. The visuals I saw last night at the exhibition, showing the appearance of the wind farm at closer range than that, confirmed my view.

“Some of the five turbines now proposed for the site would be only a little over 600 metres from houses and that won’t do. These are effectively 40-storey high structures in open countryside – they must be a reasonable distance from homes.

“I support the development of some onshore wind generating capacity in England – but these enormous turbines would be among the largest ever constructed at onshore sire in the UK. Indeed, I believe they were originally developed for offshore use and that is where they belong.

“The formal planning application is not yet submitted – it is due in November. I will be waiting for the formal position of all the local parish councils on that application before reaching a final conclusion myself. In view of the specific location I will be particularly concerned to listen to the views of Bishampton and Church Lench parish councils.

“However, I am increasingly unconvinced that the relatively small amount of electricity that would be generated by this scheme is worth the damage it would do.”

ScottishPower Renewables today released details of the first phase of development for the proposed Lenchwick Windfarm.

ScottishPower Renewables, which has a track record of multiple planning applications and has proposals to extend all of its existing industrial wind power generating sites, today released details of the proposed locations of the first set of wind turbines for their proposed ‘Lenchwick Windfarm’.

With the release of details for PHASE 1 of the mis-appropriately named ‘Lenchwick Windfarm’, it has decided that the imposing Bishampton Bank skyline should be dominated by 5, 125m tall wind turbines, placed in a straight line along the top of the bank.

In an area that could not be further from Lenchwick if it tried, (such that it doesn’t even appear on the map released by ScottishPower Renewables) the proposal will dominate the skyline for miles around.

ScottishPower Renewables policies and track records indicate that if they succeed with their planning application for Phase 1, then Phase 2 is only a matter of time away.

Having already erected an anemometer mast near to the Grade II listed Norton Church, and already carried out the necessary Environmental Impact Assessment for the Norton / Harvington area, their location plan below clearly indicates where Phase 2 is likely to be located.

.

The picture is of Jon Richardson with Peter Luff and  a few Sheriffs Lench residents.

In the background is the expected site of  three of the nine proposed wind turbines, they will be over half as high again as the mast in the background and the closest is about 500m from homes.

It is felt that 500m is too close to peoples homes and local people are calling for them to be at least 2 Kilometres from dwellings as per guidelines in Scotland.  Local MP Peter Luff has drawn the disparities in planning recommendations to the attention of the Minister.