Will I be affected?
A common response from people confronted with a wind farm proposal in their neighbourhood is "well we won’t be affected". If only that were true! Unfortunately because the turbines to be used in this scheme are so big – 100metres high and with blades of 80 metres diameter - their impact will be spread over a huge area.
Visual Impact
The developers own viewpoint data shows that the turbines will be visible over a huge area (see map below). Of course the distance between a viewer and the wind farm will make a difference to perception. On this point it is notable that the Cumbria Wind Energy Supplementary Planning Document adopted late in 2007 classified visual impact into five levels:
1.Viewed from a distance up to 2.4 kilometres turbines are classed as ‘Dominant’
2.To 6km they are classed as’ Prominent’
3.To 12km – 'Conspicuous’
4.To 18Km – ‘Apparent’
5.Beyond 18km they may be visible but will generally be 'Inconspicuous’
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
On these criteria the Armistead wind farm will be ‘Prominent’ from Old Hutton, Endmoor, New Hutton and Lambrigg wind farm – this last one adding a ‘cumulative impact’ i.e. one site adding to another in terms of overall visual disturbance, ‘Conspicuous’ from parts of Barbon, Casterton, Biggins, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lupton, Sedbergh, and Kendal and ‘Apparent’ from Grange-over-Sands and Arnside Knott
However, the effect will be most dramatic as you get up into the hills - which many of you do. Serious landscape impacts will be evident from the Howgill, Middleton, Barbon and Leck Fells, Scout Scar and Hutton Roof. Locally, they will be seen from parts of Kirkby Lonsdale especially along the A65, and along significant stretches of the A683 from Casterton to Sedbergh.
Though invisible from Oxenholme they will ruin the charming easterly view from The Helm – a popular local walk, part of which was recently bought by Friends of the Lake District because of its iconic local significance. Most of all, the turbines will dominate the many picturesque views and quiet byways within the Kendal Low Fells.
Also with rotating blades they will be much more visually intrusive than static objects such as the local pylons and television/radio transmitters. There is nothing that can be done to mitigate their impact they are just too big. Farmers are asked to plant trees to hide buildings but these structures are completely out of scale with any other feature in the landscape. So local residents going about their day to day business will have these turbines as a constantly revolving background to everything they do, whether enjoying a quiet evening in their gardens, or taking a stroll in the countryside.
Just how big are these things?
The length of time involved
Developers also routinely claim that wind farms will be temporary as they will be removed after 20 or 25 years. However, the Inspector at the Whinash Public Inquiry rejected the argument of West Coast Energy that 25 years was a ‘temporary’ time period in any type of planning terms. There is no guarantee that at the end of the 25 years there will not be another planning application to replace the existing turbines with new ones. This is already the case at Caton Moor when the Turbines were replaced after only nine years with ones twice the size of the originals.
Further Development
One of the most worrying aspects of wind farm applications is that once they are granted there is a very real prospect of the surrounding area attracting even more development. This is precisely what is happening in the Barrow and Ulverston area where four wind farms are operating with three others in the planning stage, and also over large areas of the Solway plain. This is evident from the detailed analysis ‘Cumbria Under Seige’ produced by FELLS (Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery). Since this map was produced just a few months ago at least another five sites have emerged as under threat from a range of developers.
So the wind farm will have impacts on a large number of people - not just in the immediate area. If you are in any of the locations given above you will be affected.
Remember, if this one is approved you are more likely to get additional wind farms in the area.
Make sure you do not get yourself in the position of having to say - "if only I had known!"
