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Turbines too near homes - claim
CAMPAIGNERS battling plans for a wind farm on the outskirts of Sheffield claim the turbines will be too near homes.
Andrew Redfern, chairman of Save Westwood Country Park action group, said the farm would be closer to thousands of homes and schools than accepted safety limits in Scotland, Wales and mainland Europe.
The council has identified the park as a possible site for a wind farm with up to six turbines.
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But Mr Redfern told Ecclesfield Parish Council the council had been "duplicitous" over its reaction to plans by a developer for the wind farm with the turbines more than 100m high plus blades 50m higher.
He said they would be only a few hundred metres from thousands of homes in the High Green area – whereas safety distance limits in Europe were two kilometres and one kilometre in Scotland and Wales.
The city council's North Area Panel is being held tonight at 6.45pm in Lound Junior School, Chapeltown, to discuss a feasibility study for the turbine site.
No planning application has yet been made but Mr Redfern said: "The city council is being duplicitous because it has had talks with developers and it is as good as a done deal which will bring in revenue for the council."
Mr Redfern said thousands of homes in the High Green area and Barnsley Council's area and three schools would be much nearer the turbines than in Scotland, Wales and mainland Europe where accepted limits were much further away.
He said this would result in thousands of people being subject to noise from the turbines, the flickering strobe effect of sunlight shining through the turbine blades and homes would be devalued.
But the council's head of environmental strategy Andy Nolan said: "Whilst we had informal discussions with developers, this has only been to determine the degree of interest in the site.
"The council remains open-minded about the site's viability. We will, at all stages, take local environmental impacts into consideration.
"We are aware of projects where the nearest house is only 265 metres away from the wind turbine, but the noise at the outside of the house is below the mandatory limit."
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
