Wind farm plan battle

Mar 16 2009 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

ANOTHER wind farm battle is brewing in Northumberland, after plans were announced for a nine-turbine scheme.

Developer RES has unveiled details of its proposal to put 127m structures on land at Park Head, north of Netherwitton, near Morpeth.

The company says the turbines could power more than 10,000 homes. But opponents who live at Netherwitton and Wingates are concerned at the cumulative impact of the scheme with another from Novera Energy – for six turbines 110m high just one kilometre west of the latter community.

They fear the schemes will ruin their uninterrupted views of open countryside, which include Simonside hill and Northumberland National Park, and create unwanted noise.

Opponents also question the need for both schemes given the progress made in meeting Northumberland’s renewable energy targets, and say the developers are merely trying to make money.

A public exhibition on the Park Head scheme is to take place in Netherwitton Village Hall this week, from 3pm to 8pm on Wednesday and from 10am to 3pm on Thursday.

And the Wingates scheme could be determined by Alnwick District Council’s development control committee on Tuesday, March 24.

Last night, Tracey Siddle, project manager for the Park Head Wind proposal, said: “The two years we have spent studying the site and designing the wind farm have resulted in a proposal that will generate large amounts of clean and home-grown electricity that will make a significant contribution to our efforts to tackle climate change.

“If the UK is to increase the security of our energy supply and meet its targets for producing energy from renewable sources and cutting CO2 emissions, we need projects such as this to be built.

“We look forward to working with the local communities as the project progresses.”