Tendring: Meeting to speak out against wind farm

10:04am Wednesday 4th June 2008

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Anti-wind farm campaigners are calling on residents to join a last-ditch protest against plans for a land-based wind farm between Clacton and St Osyth.

David Harrington, spokesman for South Tendring Acting to Protect our Local Environment (Staple), said the special meeting of Tendring Council's planning committee will be the last chance for residents to protest.

It will decide on the application for five 125-metre high turbines at Earls Hall Farm, off St John's Road, at Clacton Town Hall on June 19.

Mr Harrington said: "It is timely to recall why Staple has been campaigning since August 2006 to oppose the project, principally that its positioning is too close to the housing to the west of Clacton.

"The Local Government ombudsman has recently admitted that there is no adequate way of measuring many aspects of wind turbine noise."

Fears were raised that proposals for a 400-home estate, on farmland bordering Little Clacton Road and St John's Road, would not be able to go ahead because it would be less than 1km from the turbines.

Cath Stevenson, regional development manager for N-Power Renewables, said: "We are very pleased to have reached this stage in the process and are confident that this is an appropriate site for a wind farm, both in environmental and planning terms, which would generate enough clean, renewable energy for thousands of homes each year.

"We hope councillors at Tendring Council have the conviction to take a positive step in tackling climate change by approving the wind farm proposal at the committee meeting later this month."

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