Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Thursday, 2nd September 2010

Abandoned home because of wind farm

Jane Davis, Spalding, Lincs

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 24 April 2008
MY attention has been drawn to a letter from one Jeff Rice, printed on April 18 in the Sheffield Telegraph.
Read more: Green technology vital for our future

As I am Jane Davis, I hope you will allow me the time honoured right to reply to
this gentleman's statements.

Noise pollution from the Wind Farm 930 metres from our home has indeed caused us to abandon our home and rent a house 5 miles away.

Not an easy decision to make when your home is on your farm.
Noise monitoring equipment had been installed at our home and found breaches of the planning condition on 50% of the time. A second more recent set of monitoring carried out by the Local Council in October 2007 found three breaches of the planning condition (in a 27 hour period) but no statutory noise nuisance was proven at the time.

Subsequently (and AFTER the BWEA had sent a statement out saying we had no noise issues) it transpired that October 2007 recorded the lowest wind speed across the whole of the UK thus "our" wind farm was only operating at 11% across the whole month of its installed capacity. (These facts would have been known by the Wind Farm Developers but they chose not to inform the Council at the time……………………..)

The Local Government Ombudsman has only yesterday decided that our situation needs proper investigation, with all facts available to all parties and this is to happen in the near future. She is however concerned that the planning condition for noise "put in place to protect local residents" and based on the industry standard ETSU-R-97, is "Vague, open to interpretation, immeasurable and thus unenforceable".

Her judgement obviously has significant ramifications for every wind farm application (and operating wind farm) in the country, and her comments will be taken very seriously by DEFRA, BERR, CLG and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. After all there isn't a lot of point in having a planning condition in place if you cant measure it and cant enforce it is there? We already know that the Noise Working Group at the then DTI announced last year that "Aerodynamic Modulation (AM) from wind turbines is very limited in terms of the number of people affected. BUT it also concluded that the causes of AM are not fully understood and that AM cannot be predicted using current state of the art.".

Therefore no developer can guarantee that no noise will emanate from their turbines, and as we have already seen, no planning condition can be put in place, using the current preferred standard, that can be enforced.

Yes I do tour the country, and indeed tonight (April 19th) we are in Cumbria, and yes I do tell (and let people hear) what has happened to us. The recording we use is of the noise from the turbines heard at our house (which we are often accused by such as Mr Rice as manufacturing). But this is freely available on CD to anyone who wishes to do a Freedom of Environment Information Request to South Holland District Council.
We know we are not the only family to suffer in this way, and we certainly don't want others too!

I can categorically state that we are only paid for our travel. Sometimes people give us a donation, but this is and has never ever been requested. We declare our expenses received against mileage and train tickets etc.

No one pays us. We do not belong to any groups. Currently our estimated financial loss to date (given that our home is deemed unmarketable by local agents) is around £250,000 and climbing.

Finally we are not funded by any mysterious "backer". And we are prepared to swear this on oath.

I hope that this clarifies the situation for your readers and maybe they would like to question why Mr Rice has found the need to invent such scurrilous accusations about people he has never met.




Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 25 April 2008 1:47 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: SHEFFIELD, SOUTH YORKSHIRE
 
Prev
1
Next
1

Clv, Energy Security Campaigner.,

A large power plant in Oxfordshire. (Engineer). 30/08/2008 21:07:07
When ever I'm out camping, I love to pitch tent next to a wind farm if I can, as they send me to sleep! But I suspect that not everyone can live with the rumble. I think the developer needs to fit your home with free double glazing etc. As someone who works in the power industry, I'm aware that the huge cooling fans used in a power plant some years ago, (Not the one I currently work at) caused noise issues, these issues were solved with an 'anti noise' system, I think the wind turbine industry needs to investigate this technology and use it to solve their own noise issues once and for all. As it happens, different models of wind turbine have very different sound profiles, and I urge anyone facing the possible of a new wind farm on their door step, to pay particular attention to the actual turbines used, and perhaps even visit a wind farm employing the exact same turbines. I think wind farm are beautiful, and you will grow to love yours - as long as it doesn't keep you awake at night!
C:-))
Prev
1
Next

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.