ILL WINDSouth Marston and Stratton

Village MeetingThursday 29th July

Meeting Agenda• Introductions• Honda’s application• NIMBY• Reasons for concern• What have we done so far?• What do you want?• Campaign for Rural England• How to comment• Timings• Conclusion

Honda’s Application• Honda and Ecotricity have applied to build 3 x

c410ft high Wind Turbines• The application was lodged with Swindon

Borough Council on 22nd July• A 21 day Consultation period commenced on

23rd July• We believe that the SBC Planning department

look favourably on this application• The Council will decide

Reasons for concern• Proximity to dwellings• Noise• Low frequency noise• Visual Amenity• Ground Vibration• Flicker/strobing effect• Conservation• Devaluation of house prices/saleability

Are all of these grounds for objection?

NIMBY?

Most people are in favour of alternative energy & green technology but not if they have an adverse effect on people's health & quality of life.

Wind turbines must be located in the right place

6 out of 10 people would be happy to live within 3 miles of a turbine development

Proximity to Dwellings

The draft National Policy Statement on Renewable Energy (2009) states:

Proximity of site to dwellings • All wind turbines generate sound during their operation • As such, appropriate distances should be maintained between

wind turbines and residential properties to protect residential amenity

• The two main impact issues that determine the acceptable separation distances are visual amenity and noise

Proximity to Dwellings• However, there is no minimum separation distance in

English planning law or guidance.

• The Companion Guide to PPS22 gives examples of noise suggesting a practical separation distance of 350 metres

Noise Table below indicates the noise generated by wind turbines,

compared with other every-day activitiesSource Ecotricity Letter of July 1st 2010

Activity Indicative Noise Level dB(A) at 350 metres

Threshold of Pain 140 Jet aircraft at 250m 105 Pneumatic drill at 7m 95 Truck at 30 mph at 100m 65 Busy general office 60 Car at 40 mph at 100m 55 Wind farm at 350m 35–45 Quiet bedroom 20 Rural night-time background 20–40 Threshold of hearing 0

All of South Marston and Stratton are within the 35-45 Db range

Low Frequency NoiseThe Danish Government has now stopped erecting onshore turbines because of fears of health problems associated with noise (this is also being evaluated in France and Germany)

For every one report which states there are no health problems associated with wind farms, there are at least two that contradict it

Extract from report by Dr Amanda Harry GPLow frequency noise that causes vibrations you can feel through your feet and chest is never measured. This frequency resonates with the human body – the effect being dependent on body shape. There are those on whom there is virtually no effect, but others for whom it is incredibly disturbing

A report by Dr Geoff Leventhall, a fellow of the Institute of Physics and Institute of Acoustics Low Frequency noise causes extreme distress to a number of people who are sensitive to its effects

Visual Amenity

The turbines will completely

dominate the villages

Honda Turbine Comparison

Visual Impact of the Turbines

One of Ecotricity’s potentially misleading representations

Dundee

Ground Vibration

• Ecotricity have confirmed that wind turbines create ground vibration

• The impact of the vibration is subject to debate

• ‘There is no robust evidence that ground-borne vibration from wind farms generally has adverse effects on wind farm neighbours’

Strobing-flicker effect

Flicker can affect people withMigraines and Epilepsy

Source . Dr Nina Pierpoint. Independent on Sunday August 2 2009

Strobing-flicker effectFrom Ch 13 Honda Application:

Operating wind turbines may cast long, moving shadows where these are unobstructed on clear days and when the sun is low in the sky

Potential flicker periods are limited to particular hours of particular dates

Shadow flicker can be mitigated by siting wind turbines at sufficient distance from residences likely to be affected

“Flicker effects have been proven to occur only within ten rotor diameters of a turbine. Therefore if the turbine has 80m diameter blades, the potential shadow flicker effect could be felt up to 800m from a turbine.”

FLICKER MAP

Strobing-flicker effectMitigationEcotricity state that, assuming a worst case scenario, a total of 40 properties could experience shadow flicker effects

• To ensure that these effects do not cause nuisance at those properties Ecotricity is “happy to propose” the following procedure which the Local Planning Authority could secure by way of a planning conditions

• The householder complains and then Ecotricity provide a log book for two weeks• Ecotricity analyse the results and send an engineer to verify• If Ecotricity are satisfied the Turbine will have a photo sensitive cell fitted and

software updated to switch off during computer predicted flicker periods

Why do the “40” homes affected have to prove anything as Ecotricity have already identified the

issue?

Conservation

The RSPB and the SNH have both confirmed that wind turbines kill birds and disturb nesting sites

In the Planning Application, not all conservation sites have been acknowledged

Further Concerns

• Interruption to flight paths• Disruption of TV signals• Devaluation in house prices - saleability

What have we done so far?• Contacted Justin Tomlinson MP• Contacted Campaign for Rural England• Coverage on BBC TV and Radio, Wiltshire Sound,

Heart FM, Swindon Advertiser, Western Daily Press• Spoken to Hills (owners of St Julian's development)• Spoken to Hartwell's (owners of Crown Timber)• Invited media to the village meeting• Spoken to other campaign groups• Liaison with Ecotricity (they didn’t want to come

tonight)

What do you want?

• Do you want to support or object?• Do you object to all three turbines?• Can you push for Honda to move the nearest

turbine to another part of their site or another site?

• Do the turbines have to be this size?• Why can’t more turbines be built at

Watchfield?

ANN HENSHAW

Campaign for Rural England

How to comment?

• Sign the Petition• Write to Justin Tomlinson MP• Write to Councillor Doreen Dart• Comment to the Planning Department• Contact the Advertiser, radio TV• Write to Honda

What happens next• Parish Council to review Planning Application• Volunteers needed to– Phone/write to BBC– Phone/write to Heart FM– Phone/write to Advertiser

• Use contact sheet for details of how to object• Village surgery 5-6.30pm 5th Aug SM Village Hall• All comments or objections need to be submitted to

SBC by AUGUST 13TH

Conclusion

• If you do not want the turbines to be built, then you must object!

• If you leave it to someone else, the turbines will go ahead!

• Encourage your friends and neighbours to comment

• The more individual objections and the more letters, the better!