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Wind Turbine at Galley Hill - planning application resubmitted!

Posted: 31/12/2012


The following is a letter from Esther Harrod of Hemingford Grey alerting us to the renewed application for a wind turbine planning application at Galley Hill.

To see the application visit click here to enter HDC's Planning Portal , tick the copyright agreement box and the next page will present a single box - enter 1201244FUL and go. You will then be able to view all the associated documents related to this case.

Please give some thought to this and if you object, click on the link below...


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Dear All,


Another application has been submitted for a wind turbine at Galley Hill Farm, Hemingford Grey (by the slip road off the A14/A1096). The applicant has timed it so perfectly that the standard consultation expiry date is 4th Jan, with a target determination date of 30 January! We think this is a very clever move to try and slip under the radar because they think people will be too busy (or away) with Christmas and the New Year to take any notice or action…

Although it is a smaller turbine than the last one, its proposed location is much nearer the A14, A1096 and their on-site LPG tanks. The potential for driver distraction and general safety (ice throw/debris scatter) is of great concern to us. Large fragments of ice may be thrown a considerable distance. There are many inconsistencies contained within the application and it appears they may also be trying to put TWO turbines on the site. We are awaiting clarification from HDC. We have gone through the application with a fine tooth comb and will be putting our own objections on the HDC planning portal in the next couple of days.

For certain, the owners (Boparan/2 Sisters Food Group), are applying to put at least one turbine just inside of the poultry farm gate, on the right. It’s manufactured by a private Indian wind turbine company – a SIVA 250kw turbine, with a mast height of 30m (98ft high) and a tip height (to blades) of 45m (147 ft). So not THAT small when presented as a new and “highly visible” landmark at the junction of a very busy road and complex junction. We are trying to research the turbine but the company website is closed down for annual maintenance. Dimensions are not forthcoming on this application for some reason, so checking the grid reference ourselves, we calculate that the turbine will be approx 50m from the A1096, 60m from the slip road and 83m from the A14. Not very far if there is ice throw or debris from mechanical failure. And certainly VERY distracting particularly if you are coming off the A14 from the direction of London, or from Fenstanton or Hilton. They’ve taken some ridiculous montages to try and show where you CAN’T see the turbine from and that includes a photograph taken from the car park at The Pavilion!

This is a company with a turnover of £2 BILLION a year and is one of the largest privately owned companies in the UK. They have many poultry farm sites all over the country (as well as owning other businesses, including buying out Northern Foods last year). They have installed solar panels on 32% of their poultry farm portfolio, so why haven’t they applied for solar panels for renewable energy here? Perhaps the answer lies within the amount of generous subsidies (Feed-In Tariff) that the government pays out (or should I say WE pay out in our fuel bills!!). They can't have one any bigger because the site is now absolutely stuffed with industrial buildings. Even this smaller one is a total squeeze, if you look at the site plan on the portal.

We are also concerned that if this application is permitted, it could open a floodgate for more in this area

We urge you, if you are not happy with the siting of this turbine, to email your objection before 4 January to [email protected], quoting Reference No 1201244FUL Wind Turbine, Galley Hill Farm.

[clicking on the link will automatically create a pre-loaded email for you]

It IS worth doing because as we’ve found in the past, volumes of objections from local people ARE taken into consideration. If you want a receipt to your communication to HDC, you have to ask for one in your email. Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested, including those living in St Ives and surrounding villages - we are all users of the A1096. Any questions, please feel free to ask.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Esther and Steve

CONTACT: Esther Harrod by email.
 

 

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