Mr J Saddington
Senior Planning Officer
Hambleton District Counci
Stone Cross
Northallerton DL6 2UU
18 January 2009
Dear Mr Saddington,
I refer to your letter to the Parish Council dated
16 December requesting a "scoping opinion"
regarding the proposed Wind Farm at Ingram Grange
Farm. As you are aware from my previous e-mail,
the Parish Council did not receive this letter
until 30 December and met on 12 January to consider
a response.
Many parishioners and people from other properties
which will be affected by this proposed development
attended the Parish Council meeting last Monday
and there was unanimity in opposition to the development.
The proposed Wind Farm will affect all properties
in the village in one way or another, with at
least 50 of the 180 dwellings being directly and
significantly affected visually. The School, Village
Hall and St Mary's Church are all located to the
south west of the village and all would be directly
impacted.
The following summarises the points raised and
represents what the Parish Council would require
to be scoped in. Visual Impact
• The
proposal for the construction of 9 turbines each
110m in height will completely dominate the landscape
and skyline in the village of Appleton Wiske and
the surrounding area. The turbines are completely
out of keeping with this rural area and will destroy
the character and appeal of this quiet and peaceful
village in an irretrievable way.
• The
turbines will be seen from at least 50 houses
in the village including: Hornby Road, Baker Street,
Front Street, Hunters Ride and Prospect View -
in fact dwellings in every part of the village.
• As such many viewpoints need to be selected
for visual impact assessment - these are to be
agreed with the Parish Council
• Baseline
assessments must take into account the characteristics,
fabric and quality and value of the landscape
that would be affected by the proposal.
Noise & Vibration
• The proximity
of some of the proposed turbines gives significant
concern regarding the effect on properties in
the village, many of which have been in place
for a significant period of time.
•
The proposed development is to the south and west
of the village and prevailing winds are from the
south and west, thus maximising the noise impact
on the village
• As well as detailed
noise surveys throughout the village, the Parish
Council would require that the effects on:
o St Mary's Church, including vibration effects
on an already fragile structure
o Appleton Wiske Primary School, internal and
external effects including the outdoor classroom
for Early Years
o The Village Hall including the effect, internal
and external, on the Playgroup. Shadow Flicker
& Reflected Light
• The proposed
development is to the south and west of the village.
• Shadow flicker is said to be of most impact
within 10 rotor diameters, i.e. 820 metres in
this proposal. Several of the proposed turbine
locations are well within this distance from dwellings
• However, the fact that the sun sets in
west and some of the rotors would be direct line
between thesun as it drops in the sky and dwellings,
this figure of 820 meters is likely to be an underestimate
in this case.
• We would need to see
a detailed evaluation of this effect, taking into
account the position of the sun in the winter
sky fro September to March.
Ecology
• The River Wiske flows through
the proposed site with 2 of the turbine sites
being very close - it is known that the sites
of T1, T2 and T3 are subject to flooding.
• There are woods and copses on the proposed
site which are known to provide ideal habitat
for a variety of wildlife - Skylarks, Barn Owls,
Little Owls and Bats are known to frequent the
site.
• The Parish Council would seek
a detailed ecological survey to be carried out,
with particular attention being paid to the ecology
of the River Wiske and its surrounding areas.
• We have significant concerns regarding
the effect of significant foundation works on
the drainage of the Wiske and its consequent backing
up into drainage ditches which lead into the village.
Please note that work has already had to be undertaken
to alleviate flooding along Hornby Road. A detailed
study of the effect of loss of drainage would
need to be undertaken. • The effect of
construction, including use of materials, on
the ecology would be required. Safety
• We are concerned about the proximity
of turbines not only to dwellings but also to:
o roads into the village, particularly T2, T4
and T6
o public rights of way. - the proposed site
has a number of public rights of way frequently
used by in general and by dog walkers.
• Any survey must include the effects
of blade breakage, ice throw etc which would
affect dwellings, roads and rights of way.
Construction
• Appleton Wiske is served by 5 roads
all of which are C classified and pass through
various other small villages: Hornby, East Rounton,
Picton, Welbury and Deighton. Local roads suffered
considerable damage, particularly along the
edges during construction of the large pylons
recently. Although compensation was paid to
North Yorkshire Highways, the roads have never
been adequately repaired and the edges are now
in a very poor state in many areas.
• The Parish Council would want to see
details of the impact on local roads, method
and likely levels of compensation including
in the survey.
• The survey should also take into account
safety impacts of large vehicles travelling
over minor roads used by parishioners for travel
to work, for shopping etc.
Other Factors
• The Parish Council would also require
the following to be taken into account in any
surveys:
o Impact on the broadband microwave link that
the school has for broadband'
o Interference with the safety of aircraft which
(daily) pass over the Village on their way to
Durham Tees Valley Airport or RAF Leeming
o Effect on health of residents, including vibration,
noise and flicker effect on conditions such
as epilepsy.
o Effect on the site of the Roman Road which
close to T1.
• We would also require detailed wind
surveys of the area and full details of how
the power generated will be fed into the grid,
including the need for sub-stations etc.
The Parish Council understand that you have
already had a number of letters from parishioners
regarding the proposal and we reserve the right
to ask for other factors to be taken into consideration
once we have had time to collate and assess
individual parishioner views.
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