Duke of Northumberland delivers blast on the wind debate

Nov 30 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal

THE Duke of Northumberland has stoked up the fierce debate over wind energy development in the North East by launching a withering attack on the impact of massive turbines on the region’s unspoiled countryside.

In a personal intervention which will delight wind farm opponents, the Duke has branded turbines as "ugly, noisy and completely out of place in our beautiful, historic landscape".

He reveals he has rejected approaches to put turbines on land owned by his own Northumberland Estates business wing – and says the structures are divisive, unreliable and potentially damaging to the vital tourism industry.

The Duke – who has an estimated personal fortune of £300m and owns 100,000 acres of land and more than 100 tenanted farms in the region – made his comments after being accused in The Journal’s letters pages of being silent on the issue of wind farms.

He has gone public via The Journal amid fears that local moorlands and hills could be carpeted by up to 250 wind turbines if plans by green energy developers win approval in the next few years.

The 12th Duke, whose family is celebrating 700 years at its ancestral home, Alnwick Castle, says he and his forebears have opened quarries and mines and built offices, schools, supermarkets and houses – some of which he admits have provoked local opposition.

He says he has privately stated his opposition to wind farm developments, and personally written to councillors to make his position clear.

"There are no wind farms on my family estate and I have repelled all requests to apply for them. I have studied the debate, arguments and statistics and come to the personal conclusion that wind farms divide communities, ruin landscapes, affect tourism, make a minimal contribution to our energy needs and a negligible contribution towards reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

"The landowner and developer are enriched, while the consumer is impoverished by higher energy costs. Turbines are ugly, noisy and completely out of place in our beautiful, historic landscape."

The Duke dismisses suggestions that he is an influential voice on the issue, but adds: "If my personal opinion has any effect on diminishing the threat from vast industrial machines in our landscape, I will be delighted."

Two years ago bosses at the Alnwick Garden tourist attraction – which was the brainchild of the Duchess of Northumberland – were among the leading objectors to plans to build 18 turbines, each 125 metres high, at Middlemoor, north of Alnwick.

Yesterday Nick Blezard, from the Save Northumberland’s Environment (SANE) group, which opposed wind farms at Middlemoor and Wandylaw, welcomed the Duke’s comments. "Obviously SANE thoroughly applauds and is very grateful for his support, and cannot help but completely agree with what he is saying.

"It stands to reason that someone who lives in Northumberland and the Borders, and parts of whose businesses rely very much on tourism, would take this stance. I am sure his comments are helpful because he is a very influential person, as is the Duchess, and owns considerable tracts of land.

"It is interesting that none of the wind farms being proposed are on land owned by the Duke. He could make a lot of money from wind turbines but he is clearly a lover of the countryside and doesn’t want these things."

The wind energy industry was last night defended by Stephen Hannay, project director for Novera Energy which wants to erect 10 giant turbines at Wingates and Todd Hill near Morpeth. He said: "Wind is a reliable, proven technology and the Government has set a binding commitment to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.

"Given the number of constraints across Northumberland, due to military and civil aviation, nationally important landscapes and sites of historical or ecological importance, it is unlikely there will be a proliferation of wind farms in one given area – and most parts of the county are off limits to wind development.

"However, with the national need for the development of renewables we believe that Todd Hill and Wingates currently represent two of the best local examples of acceptable and deliverable development."

The Government has made a commitment to cut the UK’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, with a target of generating 15% of all energy from renewables by 2020. Northumberland has a minimum target of 212 megawatts of renewable generation by 2010 – but is unlikely to achieve more than 40 megawatts of installed capacity by the end of next year.

Page 2 - The Duke's letter in full >>