Mr C Burchell has kindly allowed us to publish his letter to West Devon Borough Council Planning Department objecting to the proposed Beckwell Farm Wind Turbine:-

 

RE: PLANNING Application 01243/2013 35m wind turbine, Beckwell Farm, Milton Abbot, Tavistock.

 

I wish to OBJECT to this application on the following grounds:

 

1) The site is on a prominent ridge between DNP and the Tamar Valley AONB and will intrude on distant views to and from Dartmoor.

Re. Policy NE10(ii)

 

2) The site overlooks an area of great landscape value. AGLV, and will intrude upon view to and from Brentor Church National Monument.

Re.Policy BE2 para 3.10 (Local Plan)and Nat. Policy Framework p.26 para 115 and P.30 para 128 &129

 

3) The siting of this turbine will affect local residences in particular Devon Yurt holidays adjacent to Beckwell Farm.

Re. Policy BE18 (Local Plan)

 

4) There will be visual intrusion upon the following properties.

a) Down House farm

b) Willistrew Farm

c) Haycombe Farm.

d) Uppaton Farm.

e) Narracott farm

f) Warracott Farm

g) Borough.

.

5) Ramsdown is the site of an ancient Iron Age hill fort settlement, and the site will affect this.

Re:590.Castle Park Camp.SX4240 7980 and Policy BE7 Para. 3.27 and BE8 para 3.29 and BE9 and BE10 (Local Plan)

 

6) Proliferation and intervisibility. There are two 18m turbines approved at Tredown Farm nearby, two further larger turbines scoped for Ramsdown and Borough Cross, plus the existing solar array at Kelly and the scoped array at Bradstone. If further schemes go ahead, they have the potential to turn this 4 kilometre square into a defacto power station. It is industrialisation of farmland by stealth. Combined with the existing turbine at Farm Shop Lifton and other solar arrays, unregulated RE schemes are edging their way South towards Tavistock- with the potential to ruin this important triangle as an AGLV.

Re. New Govt. advice on RE. Also note the Appeal Inspector’s comment some years ago on the Lamerton wind turbine appeals ’that this is an area of great landscape value and should be protected.’

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7) The site borders an important wildlife corridor between the Lyd Valley and the Tamar Valley, via the steep sided wooded valleys and ridges of Ramsdown. There is a danger of bird and particularly bat strike.

Re.Para 2.1 page6 and Policy SP17 para 2.39 (Local Plan) and Nat. Policy Framework P26 para 113 and para 117 bullet 2 andp.28para 119

 

8) The proposed turbine will never produce power to its claimed capacity. It will more likely produce only 28% of claimed load factor, in fact averaged out over the year will not supply enough reliable energy so that Beckwell will still have to rely on power from the N Grid. The visual damage to the landscape, the built environment and potential danger to wildlife far outweigh any small advantage gained in reduced carbon emissions.

 

9) You will note that I have not mentioned noise pollution as I understand that the proposed turbine will be belt driven and so gearbox noise would be suppressed. However, there is still the possibility of blade pressure modulation and despite ETSU-R-97 being unfit for purpose it may breach those guidelines in relation to Borough.

 

There is great concern amongst many residents at the slow march of these alien looking power stations, spreading across our countryside, ruining the very landscape we seek to protect.

Re.Nat.Policy Framework 2012 P.22 para 97 bullet 2

 

For the above reasons I urge you to reject this application.

 

 

Yours sincerely