SOUL, The Barmoor Anti Wind Farm Group
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RESULT OF THE PUBLIC INQUIRY
21/1/2010 We are very disappointed to have learnt that following the
result of last year's Public Inquiry into the siting of wind farms to
the south and west of Berwick, the Barmoor appeal has been
upheld (i.e. planning permission is granted, with conditions).
However we are
very pleased to hear the
Toft Hill and Moorsyde appeals have been dismissed i.e. planning
permission is turned down) and send our
warmest congratulations to those who opposed these two applications.
The siting of any wind farm in the area would be bad news for all of us.
We are very disappointed with the lack of commitment shown by
Northumberland County Council in fighting the Barmoor application.
We also that regret that the strong cultural
heritage and landscape considerations presented by SOUL at the inquiry
were not adequately taken into account by the inspector or the
Secretary of State.
We are currently taking advice and considering making an application for a judicial review of this decision.
We should take heart that the granting of planning Permission does not necessarily always mean that development will take place. There are plenty of further hurdles for the developer to overcome first.
In the light of what
could potentially happen to North Northumberland, we need to remain optimistic, continue
fighting and not give up.
“Parham Airfield” is the classic case where planning permission was given, but the Action group came out victorious in the end after 5 years struggle.
The fat lady hasn't even reached the theatre yet............
SOUL will continue to fight on on your behalf !
To read the report on the Public Inquiry that the Inspector sent to the Secretary of State, CLICK HERE
A pdf file, so you need Adobe Reader >
Latest news
Telegraph, Mon 21st Jan "Wind farm subsidies top £1 billion a year"
"The PUBLIC DAY" ON Wed 27th May, saw "An Inquiry dominated by concerned people from the local communities who were clearly overwhelmingly opposed to the proposals"
There was such a wealth of excellent and passionate speakers, some have had to be rolled over to Thursday morning
Quote from day 1
"Apart
from Lowick Silos the area around here is particularly unspoilt. It is
devoid of many artefacts seen in other landscapes.
Effects of wind turbines here can only be adverse as introducing alien elements
.... The lack of detractors make it special."
D Woolerton for the Council.
For the latest news, go to our news page
WITH LANDSCAPES WORTH FIGHTING FOR!
I wouldn't see turbines from where I live though, would I ?
© Don Brownlow Photography, One of sixteen 125m turbines being built north of the Border at Aikengill. Enlarged section shows a workman in the nacell
There is 370MW of operational wind in the whole of England at the moment. Targets propose over three times that just for Northumberland
Are huge spinning turbines safe for people living nearby ?
a video of a what happened when a vestas turbine's brakes failed.
Chairman of Northumberland Tourism speaks out against inappropriate wind turbine developments, saying we need to "avoid destroying beautiful vistas in Northumberland". See news page
Turbines 360 feet high would be built right across this picture. (the revised plan leaves all 6 turbines on this side of the road.)They would be more than twice as high as the anemometer mast which
has been enhanced, so can now be seen clearly.
Can you imagine how this landscape would change with a series of turbines stretching across it?
Like this perhaps...?
Save Our Unspoilt Landscape, the Barmoor anti-wind farm action group. more pics ->
OUR AIM
- Our main aim is to produce a reasoned and co-ordinated respose to the imminent planning application for wind turbines to be built at Barmoor;
- we aim to help other individuals to object to the plans;
- aim to engage public opinion
- and to liaise with other groups in the area
Barmoor
The area the enormous turbines are proposed is open rolling agricultural land with magnificent views all round and totally unsuitable for this kind of development - a wind power station is not in any way shape or form, appropriate here, near Barmoor South Moor, Brackenside and Barmoor Ridge.
The
map below shows the proposed positions of the turbines at Barmoor
Proposed development near Barmoor South Moor, (revised)
©CrownCopyright 2005 Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
Rare and vulnerable features such as Ford Moss, a nature reserve,
Special Area of Conservation and SSSI of international importance; the
beautiful Routin Linn waterfall with the nearby prehistoric cup and ring marks and iron age fort ; Goatscrag Hill with a very rare example of rock art , probably from the mesolithic era and also ancient deer carvings are very close by, as can be seen from the map.
Deer Carving at Goatscrag ; here you can step back into the history of our ancient past for a moment - with the throbbing noise of wind turbines for added atmosphere..?
There is a wealth of other archaeological sites and finds near the Barmoor proposal: 
Please read our latest Archaeological report along with the map below :
© Crown Copyright 2005. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
Other things you can do to help:
Barmoor
and Toft Hill are particularly significant areas of archaeological
importance, which would be severely threatened by a wind turbine
development. (See
e.g. Goatscrag carvings, Routin linn, and our new archaeological report
below). Please try and visit the archaeological offices at County Hall
in Morpeth, see the data and let them know your concern. Alternatively,
study our report and map then telephone or write to "The Conservation Team,
Environment Directorate, Northumberland County Council, County Hall,
Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2EF" or Tel: 01670 534 060 (Fax: 01670 533086)
See also Northumbria's "Keys to the past" website of archaeological features in the area.
Architectural and historical features
© Crown Copyright 2005. Image
produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind
permission of Ordnance Survey and
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.
Map showing scheduled ancient monuments, O, sites O, and listed buildings (blue triangles)
The wealth of scheduled ancient monuments and listed buildings in the area is very considerable, including battle sites, and some are both extremely close to the site and important to our heritage, for example, Ford chimney and the nearby winding house which is only 50 metres from one of the remaining 6 turbines. Barmoor castle is a Grade2* listed buliding, which will also be affected from the point of view of the visual impact of visitors to the sites. Please write to English Heritage stating your concerns about this development at Martin Roberts, English Heritage, North East Region, Bessie Surtees House, 41 - 44 Sandhill, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3JF or Tel: 0191 261 1585 or email English Heritage
Other Wind Power Station Developments in the area pending Planning Decisions
The cumulative impact of the proposed developments at Moorsyde and Toft Hill (see also those at Middlemoor and Wandylaw will be devastating to the outstanding beauty of North Northumberland
and the result will be felt throughout the area in terms of decrease in
tourism and the revenue it brings to the region. (See maps below )
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland
What is more, planning permission for many more wind farms will be in the pipeline if we do not make a stand against this visual pollution. We have a duty to protect our heritage. It is vitally important that horizons from strategic sites, such as our coastline of outstanding natural beauty, the Cheviot hills, Cuthbert's way etc. are not compromised.
(See Robin Dower's article for the Northumberland and Newcastle Society)
A Wind Energy Landscape ?
There are now five proposals for a total of 46 massive wind turbines within the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed, with another 18 just over the borough border at Middlemoor. Other sites are being investigated.
© Crown Copyright 2005. Map by kind
courtesy of Don Brownlow reproduced under OS mapping licence WL8747
See the new Windbyte website for images for maps of wider area including Scotland
and the Borders.
Part of 'Moorsyde' Wind Power Station,Looking South from the Plough Inn, West Allerdean.
© 2005 Don Brownlow Photography.
For more information and comment see the MAG website
Turbine scaled to Berwick Town Hall. © Don Brownlow
Berwick Town Hall is 150 ft. high (46 metres).
The 10 turbines would be 360 ft. high (110 metres).
Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs)
See also article in Newcastle Journal on our News page
These certificates – ROCs – can be bought and sold on the open market. They are tradeable. And the power station owning energy producers can mitigate the penalties for their huge carbon outputs by acquiring ROCs.
So ROCs are enormously valuable. If you can get permission to build 9 giant wind turbines at Barmoor, you can sell the ROCs these attract to power companies at a huge profit. Perhaps it might not be too unkind to imagine that this could possibly play some part in the headlong ‘windrush’ to ruin our countryside with so many outsize, ineffective monuments
How much income can a wind farm produce?
Simple Example of , say a 10 turbine wind farm (each turbine 2.5MW), using these figures, (assuming 30% capacity factor*) ,gives sales of :
1
.Electricity 10 x 2.5 x 24 x 365 x 0.3 =65700 MWh @
£30 = £1,971,000 (No of turbines x
MWs x 24hrs x365 days x “capacity factor” = Units generated in year x wholesale price= sales of energy)
PLUS:
2. ROC's 65700 ROC's @£47.51 = £3,121,407
TOTAL SALES £5,092,497
Other financial
advantages such as that from the Climate Change Levy exemption can
be added, further increasing this sum. *Capacity factor of 30% is used by Government
for predicting performance. (This is seldom achieved except in windy
sites in Highlands. (See Renewable Energy Foundation research)
New car sticker available now! Click here
Barmoor revised proposalTo help interpret the new proposal, here is a version with the positions of the turbines and the roads highlighted and some of the important features marked.
Public Meeting on Arup Report at Berwick Rugby Club
Public
meeting at which the NEA and Arup presented the findings of the Arup
"landscape capacity study" for the "South and West of Berwick area". Read news page
We
were delighted to see the councillors come to that meeting, despite the
Boro Council arranging another meeting the same night!
What became apparent from the meeting was that :
their brief was to survey the areas where there were live applications;
Several serious errors and omissions were made in terms of :
Ignoring all listed buildings and scheduled monuments, unlike other Arup surveys, "because the data was not easily available", and
- Omitting certain settlements completely and ignoring those of less than 10 dwellings
Our main concern is that the study is meant to be an objective survey where judgements are made on an equal basis, yet clearly, different standards have been used for other sites, so its value is rather limited.
Nov 22nd, Just published - the Arup report on the Berwick meeting which mentions, amongst other remarks, points 2 above, but not the omission of significant cultural heritage features (1)
To read more on what the Arup report says, see
As you may know, Scott Wilson broadly agreed with the Arup findings, but refined the recommendations to a reduced Moorsyde scheme of 7 turbines, and a reduced Barmoor scheme of 6 turbines.
Scott Wilson (consultants) report on Barmoor :
Click here for Wilson cumulative impact addendum to Moorsyde and Toft Hill reports
Ove Arup "Wind Farm development & Landscape Capacity Study of South and West of Berwick" released.
It indicates that “the area is not capable of accommodating a level of wind turbine development as envisaged by the Draft RSS and the County Structure Plan, i.e. up to 25 turbines, without a significant change in landscape character and some very significant effects upon the even spread of settlement throughout the area. It suggests a maximum level of development of 10-15 turbines or around 30-40MW installed capacity output.
One of the key statements made is : "The area is a settled landscape, albeit quite sparse in areas, with areas of settlement located outside the study area as well, eg. Berwick upon Tweed. This can be quantified by reference to the visual effects data for two other wind resource areas within Northumberland. For example:-
• The best performing zone in this wind resource area for “effects on settlement up to 2km” potentially affects the same number of dwellings as the 22nd best performer out of 24 in Knowesgate and Harwood or the 11th best out of 16 at North Charlton.
• The best performing zone for “effects on settlement up to 10km” still potentially affects a third more dwellings than the worst performer in Knowesgate and Harwood.
Taking the above into consideration it is necessary to carefully consider the appropriate scale of development in terms of the scenarios." (p34 NERA Wind Farm Development and Landscape Capacity Studies: South and West Berwick upon Tweed)
It goes on to say the maximum recommended magnitude of wind farm development within the area could be distributed in at least 3 different ways (scenarios B, C or D). Smaller “clusters” are favoured which would allow short and long distance views through turbines and would better sit with the scale of the settled landscape.
Scenario B is basically smaller Barmoor and Moorsyde developments , C is smaller Moorsyde and Toft Hill, and D is smaller Barmoor and Toft Hill. (Scenario A was considered unacceptable with scenario C performing slightly better than B & D.)
B
C 
D
We welcome the reduced numbers of turbines as suggested by Arup. It may mean the developments would not be financially viable. Of course, were the planning committee to refuse the present application and the developers then resubmit a smaller development as indicated in the scenarios, there would still be many sound reasons to object, for instance, the threat to the area’s particular biodiversity – see special sites on our Barmoor ecology site.
Moorsyde’s developers have already reduced the number of turbines and revised their application. They also urge you email or write to the Council : see Moorsyde
Why Whinash was won
The DTi’s decision in March last year to reject the planning application for the Whinash windfarm in Cumbria was a huge boost to our campaign against wind turbine development at Barmoor.
Whinash would have involved building 27 turbines 115m high near Tebay on the edge of the Lake District, and it was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds that:
• it would be contrary to national and local government landscape protection policie
• that the harm to this particular landscape outweighs the benefits of securing renewable energy at Whinash
• it would cause very significant damage to an important landscape with related impacts on the recreational value of the site
• the proposal would not be a ‘benefit to the neighbourhood’ and therefore it would not be appropriate for consent to be given
Report to the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry; and for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs. Summary Conclusions. 3 February 2006.
These are all key grounds on which we object to the wind power station proposed at Barmoor.
Perhaps this is also why the Cumbrian Tourist Board strongly objected to the Whinash proposal. The CTB has estimated that the county could lose £75 million each year in tourism if windfarms are built in or around the Lakes.
As agriculture continues to decline as the basis for economic life in the British countryside, tourism is becoming more and more important to the rural economy, and a growing number of people and organisations are awakening to the threat that giant wind turbines pose to rural businesses utterly dependent on a highly sensitive tourist trade.
Visit Britain concludes an article about wind farm development and tourism in one of its strategy publications with the following: “In the coming years it will be ever more important to ensure wind farm development recognises the vital importance of tourism in rural areas, and that the two sectors cannot be guaranteed to co-exist successfully in the same area, especially where an area’s innate attractiveness is a key motivator for tourists to come and visit.”
In a recent report entitled UK Energy Policy: The Small Business Perspective & The Impact on the Rural Economy, the Small Business Council states that, “the current trend towards high levels of wind energy development onshore presents an unacceptable threat to rural businesses and runs counter to almost all other aspects of Government policy relating to the rural economy”.I
n Northumberland agriculture accounts for just 2% of employment. In Berwick on Tweed alone, tourism accounts for 36% of the local economy. Yet Northumberland still claims just 1% of the total UK tourist economy. The scope for expanding this share is enormous, and it is estimated that every additional £1 million of tourist spending in Northumberland would create another 500 jobs.
According to the Council for the Protection of Rural England, Northumberland is England’s most beautiful and tranquil county, and growing numbers of visitors are coming here for our unique mixture of coastline, castle and countryside. We need to safeguard this economic lifeline.
The Whinash windfarm was rejected because it could cause ‘very significant damage’ to the environment and tourism, and because it offered no benefit to the ‘neighbourhood’.
The Barmoor wind power station planning application should be rejected on exactly the same grounds.
For more details or To Sign his Petition click here
For SOUL Blimp news click the pic :
Long may Northumberland remain "The Land Of Far Horizons"