A company called Cetis are proposing to build a number of full size electricity wind turbines in land adjacent to our village. Each turbine is approx 125 meters high and some are only 450 metres away from our homes. The potential negative impact of these turbines raises many issues, below are the main reasons for the Action Group being opposed to these plans. We welcome your views or comments on the subject.

Due to the nearby motorway networks, we regularly suffer from noise pollution of over recommended levels. As residents of Lilbourne we are therefore extremely concerned about the potential detrimental aerodynamic noise from the blades of the turbines which will undoubtedly further exacerbate the noise pollution from vehicles on the surrounding road networks. Low frequency noise of this nature is scientifically proven to the most detrimental to health.

If an area is already blighted by noise and pollution from motorways, this should serve as a primary reason to limit further environmental impact, not provide an excuse to promote more. Research shows significantly higher levels of health problems occur to the millions of us living alongside motorways in the UK.  Further health concerns relate to the negative impacts of the ‘flicker’ and shadow effects of the turbines, especially for residents who suffer from epilepsy and related conditions.

Lilbourne is situated very near to an existing accident black-spot with over 21 deaths in eight years. At this, one of the busiest motorway junctions in the country drivers do not need further distractions.

European guidelines relating to the building of wind turbines clearly state that these must be in an area away from air-traffic, due to the interference with aircrafts’ radar systems. Being in the centre of the country, we endure constant air traffic from the nearby airports of Birmingham International, Luton and East Midlands. There are numerous other small aircraft operating in the area, for example from Bruntingthorpe. This reinforces the fact that Lilbourne is NOT an appropriate area for wind turbines.

We are already surrounded on all sides by roads and industrial distribution centres and our rural areas are currently being prepared for Rugby’s housing development plans. The limited access through small, country villages makes the site completely unsuitable. The additional impact of wind turbines and their access roads to our environment would be disastrous to many species of trees and shrubs and the wildlife habitat that would be destroyed.

Suitable alternative power sources must be investigated, but wind turbines running at an estimated 20-30% efficiency rate cannot be regarded as a realistic solution. The UK Wind database shows that average wind speeds for this area are 6.1 meters per second, this is well below the recommended speed required to generate electricity efficiently. The negative impact of the construction of crucial access roads and heavy vehicle traffic would take many years to balance the carbon emissions produced. By this time, it is highly likely that a more suitable, efficient and cost effective solution would be available. Furthermore, costs incurred of installing the wind turbines will take many years to recoup, further adding to already increasing energy costs.

The building of these wind turbines will undoubtedly have an enormous detrimental effect on Lilbourne, both in the short and long term. There are similar proposals being put forward for nearby villages (e.g. Your Energy) and we are at risk of being surrounded by wind turbines. This is not just about the negative impact on the value of our homes, but about the affect on our quality of our day-to-day lives. We would urge you to support our campaign to prevent this proposal from going ahead. Contact the Chair of Lilbourne Action Group against Wind Farm: Ms Wendy Hoult (01788) 860166. Write to the proposers, the Planning Dept at Daventry Council and our local political representatives. Below are some suggestions:

Mr W Mollett,

Hemex LLP

via Cetis,

The Grange

Southwick,

PETERBOROUGH

PE8 5BW

Email:   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr McDowell,

Planning at Daventry District Council

Lodge Road

DAVENTRY

Northamptonshire

NN11 4FP

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mr Tim Boswell – MP for Northamptonshire

House of Commons

LONDON

SW1A 0AA

Sources of Information about Wind Turbines:

BBC (2008) Poverty Fears over wind power 4/09/08 available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7596214.stm accessed 05/09/08

BERR (Dept for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) (2008) Guidelines available from: http://www.berr.gov.uk/energy/markets/consents/page22743.html accessed 05/09/08

BWEA (British Wind Energy) (2008) Best Practice Guidelines for Wind Energy Development (leaflet) London, BWEA

Clover, C. (2008) Climate Tzar: ‘Put wind farms along motorways’ The Telegraph, 11/06/08

Coventry Telegraph (2008) Plea for Coventry air crash witnesses 18/08/08 www.coventrytelegraph.net accessed 05/09/08

Curtis, P (2007) Living near a motorway damages children's lungs, research reveals The Guardian 26/01/07

Harry, A. (2007) Wind Turbines and Health report available from: http://www.windturbinenoisehealthhumanrights.com/ accessed 05/09/08

Sandström, T & Brunekreef, B (2007) Traffic-related pollution and lung development in children The Lancet 369 (9561): 535-537

Mollett, W. (2008) Scoping application letter to Daventry District Council dated 29/02/2008

Moorsyde ( 2008) Wind farm action group reports available from http://www.moorsydeactiongroup.org.uk/index.html#noshow accessed 05/09/08

UK Noise Association, (2008) Report on Wind Farm Noise available from www.ukna.org accessed 05/09/08