Seeking Your Views on Wind Farms
January 2006
The latest issue on which I would value the views of my constituents is
on local attitudes to wind farms. As I am seeking to make this the
largest consultation I have ever undertaken, I would be most grateful if
you would also forward this link to all other
Northavon residents for whom you have an
e-mail address and encourage them to contact me directly with their
views.
Although no planning application has so far been submitted for a wind
farm in South Gloucestershire, the go-ahead has been given for turbines
in Bristol, and it seems very likely that South Gloucestershire
Council's planners will have to take a view about wind farms in the not
too distant future. Given the rules about keeping wind farms away from
houses, the most likely siting of any wind farm development in our area
would be on farm land.
Clearly, any specific application would have to be subject to the full
planning process to assess the suitability of a particular site, but I
am most interested at this stage in getting the views of local residents
IN PRINCIPLE about the acceptability of
wind farms in our area.
My question therefore is:
Are you, in principle, supportive of having wind farms in South
Gloucestershire?
background information:
For an overview of the issue, including background information and
summary arguments for and against,
the BBC website has good material.
Arguments in favour of wind farms:
*
British
Wind Energy Association - including a
report by the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University,
suggesting that the UK has the best wind resource in Europe;
* The
Sustainable Development Commission (independent government advisory
body) has published a report on Wind Power in
the UK;
*
http://yes2wind.com
is a site produced by Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF,
with the aim of providing information and resources for the public to
support wind farm proposals locally.
Arguments
against Wind farms:
*www.countryguardian.net
is a general site opposed to wind farms in UK;
* Read the
views of
naturalist
and campaigner David Bellamy;
* The
Royal Academy of Engineering
has expressed concern at the cost of wind
farms.
Email me!
If you would like to respond to this survey
question, and you are one of my constituents, fill in the "Join my email group" box on the left of this
page, and I will send you an email telling you what to do.
Text me!
Alternatively, if you would like to reply by text
message, simply text me at 07971
865510
with your name and address to register your
number, and I will let you know what to do next.
I look forward to hearing your views!
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