Views of Simonside Hills ‘would be ruined by wind farm’

Oct 14 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

VIEWS from one of Northumberland’s best-loved landscape features would be affected by a proposed wind farm, it has been claimed.

The six 110-metre turbines at Wingates would be around 2km from the boundary of Northumberland National Park.

The park’s development control committee will be told today the machines would be visible from the Beacon – the first formal viewing point on the climb to the summit of the Simonside Hills.

Committee members are being asked to lodge a formal objection to the scheme.

In a report to the committee, National Park planners say: “The key characteristics of the landscape from this location are its large scale and open panoramic views. The development would introduce prominent vertical features with related blade movement, modifying these open and simple landscapes.” The turbines would also be visible from another viewpoint in the park at Garleigh Moor cairn on the edge of Harwood Forest.

Park landscape and recreation manager Elaine Rigg said from the Beacon and Garleigh moor “the impact on the view from the national park will undoubtedly by significant, with the proposed turbines forming prominent features in the landscape”.

A second element is the potential impact of views of the national park from outside its boundaries and “the wind farm would have an effect on the tranquillity of Simonside”.

One aspect of tranquillity is judged to be views of non-natural features.