tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1305716778785298992024-03-13T18:49:57.699+00:00Lincolnshire Pro Wind AllianceBecause claiming wind is wrong just isn't rightJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-79065111180291575922014-05-06T20:19:00.000+01:002014-05-06T20:19:47.349+01:00Metheringham Wind DebateI took part in a community debate about wind farms last Tuesday.<br />
I was invited by Metheringham Parish Council who were responding to residents concerns about an initial consultation for plans to build a large (+50MW) wind farm at Nocton Fen.<br />
I was grateful for the opportunity to speak in support of wind and thought it would be useful to have a record of the event and so I made an audio recording.<br />
I've added some slides to back up the points I was hoping to make, and the full presentation including a part of Councillor Colin Davie's speech plus the lively "Question time" can be viewed/listened to here:<br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/94174938">Metheringham wind farm debate </a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-16453234385302765232014-01-09T09:45:00.001+00:002014-01-09T09:45:54.104+00:00Louth Canal Farm Wind Energy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following a brief conversation with a local resident yesterday, there seems to be an element of confusion over the scope of the proposed community fund for the Louth Canal Wind Energy project.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colm Ryan from the development company, Partnership for Renewables, has clarified the position.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">" <span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we are successful in getting permission we will run further consultation events primarily for the community benefit fund. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">No decisions have been made as to where or indeed who will benefit from the fund. From the outset we encourage groups and individuals to come forward with potential idea or projects that the community benefit fund could go towards. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">For some of our other projects we have used an independent charity called Grantscape to come in and manage the fund which to date has been very successful."</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fund will total £37,500 p.a. for the life of the project, money that I'm sure could be well spent in improving and supporting local parish services.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please write or email your support for this project to : </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ms
Leanne Palmer, c/o Ms. Zoe Hill, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Planning Inspectorate,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 3/02 Kite Wing, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Temple Quay House, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 The Square, Bristol.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> BS1 6PN </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">email: leanne.palmer@pins.gsi.gov.uk</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like to speak </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in support</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> at the planning appeal scheduled for the week commencing the 21st January 2014 then please phone James on
07939205346 or email jpocklington@fastmail.fm</span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-46598725436423205122013-11-10T13:57:00.000+00:002013-11-10T13:57:10.891+00:00So where are the silent majority?When you've been supporting wind farms for a year or more, you begin to realise that few people locally, although sympathetic and open minded, are prepared to speak up in the defence of them. Let's face it it is<br />
a lot easier to say no than yes, particularly when some of your neighbours are screaming NO! and I guess a good many people just don't want to get involved because the debate has become so acrimonious.<br />
So I've often wondered what would happen if you commissioned a credible poll of Lincolnshire<br />
residents and asked them "Would you be happy to live near a wind farm?"<br />
Because of the recent irresponsibly negative publicity churned out by our local authorities I'd have guessed that probably less than 50% would answer yes, so I'm assuming that the Mail on Sunday had the same view when they put that very question to 1000 randomly selected GB citizens.<br />
The unpalatable result (it must have been unpalatable because they don't appear to have published it!)<br />
is that 70% of the 1000 people answered YES!<br />
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<a href="http://survation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/MailEnergyFinal.pdf">Mail on Sunday Energy Poll October 2013</a><br />
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So if you are one of the silent majority that supports wind farms, but have no wish to become embroiled in the debate, do the next best thing and write to your local authority with the simple message.<br />
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"I'd be happy to live near a wind farm"Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-35201430431638435112013-11-10T13:02:00.000+00:002013-11-10T13:02:08.349+00:00Louth Canal Wind Energy updatePartnership for Renewables have submitted amended plans for the siting of the sub station for this<br />
project.<br />
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This has been agreed by ELDC who acknowledge it reduces any negative impact on the warehouse at Thoresby Bridge.<br />
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<a href="http://www.pfr.co.uk/louthcanal/news/269/Update-November-2013/">Louth Canal Wind Energy update</a><br />
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The Public Inquiry is scheduled for 21st January 2014.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-72857341485323505322013-10-28T13:59:00.000+00:002013-10-28T13:59:11.627+00:00Support for Temple Hill<div style="background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The application for Temple Hill Wind Farm has been submitted, validated and is on South Kesteven Council’s website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Obviously any support is subject to the details of the application so please view those here <o:p></o:p><a href="http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1640" style="background-color: transparent;">SKDC planning</a><span style="background-color: transparent;"> application number </span><span style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 18px; text-indent: -24px;">S13/2699.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: -24px;"> There is a well organised and vociferous campaign against this project. As with most anti wind groups they complain bitterly about the wind industry "propaganda" but then continue to produce deliberately misleading and spurious "facts" to galvanise local support. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The Revolt group have this to say about wind turbine efficiency. <a href="http://re-volt.co.uk/the-issues/wind-energy-viability/">http://re-volt.co.uk/the-issues/wind-energy-viability/</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-size: small; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"<i>We won’t go into all the details (though if you’d like to know the maths please <a href="http://re-volt.co.uk/contact-us/" sl-processed="1" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #743399; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Contact us">email us</a>!) but the basic answer is NO. The huge development at Temple Hill would only power around 800 kettles."</i></span></div>
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I would suggest that most people would consider this an insignificant amount, I mean a kettle is only on for a couple of minutes isn't it?</div>
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Well no..is this case they mean 800 kettles on 24 hrs every day 365 days a year, not very helpful comparison really is it? I mean who is going to keep topping up the water and changing the elements when they burn out?:)</div>
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Furthermore their 800 kettles should actually be nearer 1600 permanently boiling kettles as they have managed to get even this simple calculation wrong ( no wonder they don't want to go into details).</div>
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Here is a guide to calculating possible power output from a wind farm.</div>
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Maximum power rating of a turbine = (e.g.) 2.5MW</div>
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Anticipated total power produced over a year = 25% of rated capacity (load factor)</div>
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Therefore over a year with the turbine sometimes running flat out and sometimes not running at all you can expect to average out 625Kw of electricity produced for every hour of the year. So that's 625 Kw/h multiplied by 8760 hrs in a year = 5,475,000 Kw/h p.a.</div>
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If you have 5 of these turbines you could realistically produce 27,375,000 Kw/h p.a.</div>
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The average kettle requires 2kw of power so if one was on permanently for a year it would use up 2 x 8760 or 17520 Kw/h of electricity ( incidentally the average UK household uses 4700 Kw/h p.a.)</div>
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So if you were daft enough to use up all of the output from the turbines to boil kettles you would power 1562.5 kettles (27,375,000 total Kw/h divided by 17520 Kw/h per kettle) almost double the number Revolt are offering as a "fact".</div>
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Please register your support for this scheme. Don't let the scare tactics of a misguided few be the only words the planning department have to consider.</div>
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<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-10421365663727015922013-08-17T13:08:00.001+01:002013-08-17T13:16:28.795+01:00Louth Canal Wind Energy ProjectPartnership for Renewables have lodged an appeal against ELDC's decision to deny planning permission for the Louth Canal Wind Energy Project <a href="http://www.pfr.co.uk/louthcanal/news/250/PfR-Submits-Appeal-for-Louth-Canal-Wind-Energy-Project/">Partnership for Renewables</a><br />
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The Public Inquiry is scheduled for the 21st January 2014 and will take 6 days to complete.<br />
The planning application can be viewed here: <a href="http://publicaccess.e-lindsey.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_EASTL_DCAPR_110159">East Lindsey District Council</a><br />
and details of the appeal here: <a href="http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk/pcsportal/ViewCase.asp?caseid=2200887&coid=36914">Planning inspectorate</a><br />
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The project involves three wind turbines up to a maximum of 2.5MW capacity for each turbine.<br />
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Partnership for Renewables have followed recent government recommendations and increased the package of community benefits to £5000 per MW per annum. This means the local community could receive up to £37,500 every year for the anticipated 25 year life of the project, £937,500 in total.<br />
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It is extremely important for supportive local voices to be heard by the Planning Inspector if this appeal is to be upheld so please do what you can to ensure the "silent majority" is encouraged to register their support.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-84476396826844846242013-08-17T12:17:00.000+01:002013-08-17T12:17:32.866+01:00Accept the change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a two page A4 flyer designed to be distributed to all households within sight of a current wind farm planning application. The government's recent guidelines emphasise the need for local community support toward wind farms and have recommended higher financial payments for the communities affected.</div>
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If you'd like a pdf file of the flyer please email jpocklington@fastmail.fm</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj908lIve5aUHgRjM-AJuXpT0p9zMUCp3lRnKXuScQcxsAIAYmev1RVbTYfzSuYiLrEYJz61MDdCVds6X7xiboWE9H0mAs9mSgwjUV4VGfUF8XbUOliN9X3EsuH1LP047Uk_peVgbOocGaI/s1600/Accept+the+change22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj908lIve5aUHgRjM-AJuXpT0p9zMUCp3lRnKXuScQcxsAIAYmev1RVbTYfzSuYiLrEYJz61MDdCVds6X7xiboWE9H0mAs9mSgwjUV4VGfUF8XbUOliN9X3EsuH1LP047Uk_peVgbOocGaI/s640/Accept+the+change22.png" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij32w4dyVhCNgn7cKyaptC31Xzd77sISiiXTGYKnpemNASxtIsKLs91EQ5nPI9cedE6A9CYE04iQvbKEAUBvp0nBkIZlacUmC32IT4zXxFlXWY_YYYDLocholA-K2ATRxvgfW4v9BegccB/s1600/Accept+the+change21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij32w4dyVhCNgn7cKyaptC31Xzd77sISiiXTGYKnpemNASxtIsKLs91EQ5nPI9cedE6A9CYE04iQvbKEAUBvp0nBkIZlacUmC32IT4zXxFlXWY_YYYDLocholA-K2ATRxvgfW4v9BegccB/s640/Accept+the+change21.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-62057163410959904162013-06-11T18:43:00.000+01:002013-06-11T18:43:27.733+01:00Quote for the Lincolnshire Echo re: Hemswell Cliff wind farm public consultation<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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"Despite recent headlines in the media the government hasn't changed the national policy on the need to deploy onshore wind farms to meet our commitment to supply 15% of UK energy demand from renewable sources by 2020.</div>
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"The UK has some of the best wind resources in Europe and onshore wind is one of the most cost-effective large-scale renewable energy technologies. We are committed to using onshore wind as part of the UK’s energy mix." <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-use-of-low-carbon-technologies/supporting-pages/onshore-wind" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: blue;" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-the-use-of-low-carbon-technologies/supporting-pages/onshore-wind</a></div>
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What the government have clarified is that current national planning guidelines should be more closely followed by both the developers and the local planning authority. The developer must fully consult those affected by their proposals and take action to reduce any adverse impacts. Local planning authorities should identify sites which would be suitable for large scale renewable projects as well as those that are not and include them in their development plans. Local authorities should not sit back, wait for the applications to be submitted and say no to every proposal.</div>
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There is no veto against wind farms although there is an acknowledgement from the government that the national demand for renewable energy should not automatically trump quantifiable local impacts.</div>
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The government are challenging those who might instantly dismiss wind farms to actually consider the facts and the seriousness of the issues behind their deployment. There are plans for additional training seminars for local authority representatives and "evidence tool kits" which will provide peer reviewed, factual data about onshore wind turbines for communities to consider.</div>
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There are proposals for significant financial benefits for local communities affected by wind farms and in a time of financial uncertainty that should be welcomed.</div>
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A "knee jerk" no to wind farms is no longer acceptable. It results in unnecessary expense for the tax payer ( East Lindsey District Council recently announced they have spent almost £500,000 on appeals against wind farms). I would urge everyone to look beyond the angry rhetoric of the anti-wind protesters, seek out the facts and make sure their voice is heard in the public consultation."</div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-18966822192613916972013-06-07T00:12:00.000+01:002013-06-07T00:23:11.852+01:00The veto that never wasIt's been widely reported in the media today that local residents affected by onshore wind farm proposals will be given the opportunity to "veto" the development.<br />
That sounds like bad news for the future of onshore wind in the UK as passing on the decision for the deployment of wind farms to those people most affected by their presence is surely a death knell for onshore wind?<br />
But there appears to be an anomaly between the soundbite announcement from Downing St "local residents will be able to stop unwanted wind farms" and the real thrust of the onshore wind call for evidence recently concluded by DECC ,the source of the government's review of onshore wind in the UK.<br />
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If you read the document in full (see link on right) it is obvious that the government is merely requiring that the protaganists of the onshore wind debate play by the rules that already exist.<br />
The wind farm developers must properly consult with residents prior to any application and the local planning authorities must include in their local development plan, areas that are suitable for on shore wind and those that are not due to material impacts on the local surroundings, be it historic buildings or cumulative affects.<br />
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The call for evidence makes it plain that onshore wind remains a continuing essence in the UK's energy road map for the future. The government wants to encourage community ownership and it aims to promote the facts about the benefits and importance of onshore wind through "evidence tool kits" and training seminars to LPA's.<br />
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It has ramped up the recommended payments that developers should make to communities for the life of the wind farm to £5000 per MW (rated capacity) per annum (many developers already make payments at similar levels).<br />
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The challenge is for local authorities to stop putting their head in the sand over this issue and to accept the role that on shore wind has to play in our energy future. They will have greater powers to object to inappropriate wind farms but only if they have demonstrated that they have identified areas where onshore would be acceptable in a local development plan.<br />
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It seems to me that what has been reported to the press in soundbite form is a reaction to the divisive appeal of UKIP to many conservatives but is a total red herring when it comes to the reality of the situation. There is nothing in the proposals that gives the local residents an unconditional veto against onshore wind developments.<br />
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LPA's that behave responsibly on this issue by including a constructive on shore wind policy in their local development plan will gain some control over onshore wind in their areas because they will have demonstrated that they are not just saying no to every proposal.<br />
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The message is listen to the facts, understand the issues, behave responsibly in the national interest, avoid wasting taxpayers money on appeals for perfectly acceptable on shore wind proposals and gain the legitimacy to object to inappropriate proposals.<br />
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Are you listening ELDC?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-30847897484321187542013-04-29T19:35:00.000+01:002013-04-29T19:35:25.785+01:00UKIP, do you know what they stand for?I received my UKIP bundle through the letter box this morning and on the back of an A5 size poster were these words: "You know what UKIP stands for"<br />
Well I know they are against the European parliament and they're against immigration and against political correctness (whatever that means) and against wind farms but I was not altogether sure what they stood for so being as this is a pro-wind blogsite, I thought I'd look up their energy policy.<br />
It's written by Roger Helmer MEP and includes several gems of climate change denialism.<span style="color: #272627; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Their policy states</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #53307b;"> “</span></b><span style="color: #272627; text-indent: -18pt;"><i>The
slight warming in the last hundred years is entirely consistent with well
established, long-term natural climate cycles — the Roman Optimum, the Dark
Ages, the Mediæval Warm Period, the Little Ice Age. And now we seem to be
moving into a new, natural 21st century optimum</i>”. So I guess if you shared that blinkered view of the accelerating environmental crisis you'd probably want to ditch the Climate Change Act of 2008 as UKIP suggest. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #272627; font-family: inherit; text-indent: -18pt;">The policy also</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -18pt;"> states</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> that increasing CO2 emissions is ok, which is why it supports fracking
for shale gas and open cast coal mines but doesn’t support wind farms and solar
arrays. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">Please read the policy here to get a feel for "What UKIP stand for".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://ukip.org/media/policies/energy.pdf">http://ukip.org/media/policies/energy.pdf</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">UKIP are feeding on the fears of the misinformed...if you get the opportunity to enlighten anyone considering a vote for UKIP I'd suggest you take it.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">This week we could well see the earth's atmosphere register 400ppm of CO2 for the first time in several million years....UKIP state this will help to "green" the planet, </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">UKIP : anti-science, anti-reality, anti-social.</span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Scientists do not disagree about human-caused
global warming. It is the ruling paradigm of climate science, in the same way
that plate tectonics is the ruling paradigm of geology. We know that continents
move. We know that the earth is warming and that human emissions of greenhouse gases
are the primary cause. These are known facts about which virtually all
publishing scientists agree."</span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> Dr James L Powell </span><a href="http://scienceprogress.org/2012/11/27479/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">scienceprogress.org/2012/11/27479/</span></a><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-58219954346499953882013-04-19T15:38:00.003+01:002013-04-19T15:38:51.094+01:00Louth Canal Farm Wind Energy ProjectI had a wind assisted cycle ride to Tedder Hall yesterday morning to speak in support of the above three turbine 7.5MW wind farm. <a href="http://publicaccess.e-lindsey.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_EASTL_DCAPR_110159">Louth Canal farm wind energy</a> the vote went 11-0 for refusal.<br />
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I spoke of the purpose of onshore wind in the context of global warming and energy security, there was a good number of supporters for the project at the meeting but all to no avail.<br />
The usual reasons for anything but wind were given, citing effects on tourism, loss of view for one particular resident 680m from the site, the combined,cumulative effect of this proposal when considered with other proposals that have yet to be approved (not sure how that works..sort of anticipation of cumulative effect?), the harm caused to the setting and significance of local churches and listed buildings. (English Heritage described this as less than significant).<br />
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Whether the developers will appeal we'll have to wait and see. Here's the conclusion of the planning inspector's decision letter on the approval of Gayton-le-Marsh wind farm just to give a little glimmer of objectivity.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Because of the urgent
need for more installed RE to meet the 2020 targets, the bar of acceptability
must be set low enough for sufficient schemes to be permitted. Onshore wind
energy schemes in particular utilise a reliable and mature technology, can be
deployed economically and use a plentiful resource. Many other possible sources
of RE are expensive, at an infant stage of development or cannot be implemented
quickly. I doubt that, in the short term at least, alternative technologies for
renewable electricity generation will mature to the level that would be
necessary to make wind energy unattractive as part of the overall mix. It is
therefore my overall conclusion that, under these circumstances, the additional
harm to the local landscape which would arise from the appeal scheme would be
within the bounds of acceptability, especially bearing in mind that after 25
years, the wind farm would be decommissioned and there would be no lasting
landscape impact."</span></span><br />
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Our communities are sleep walking into a energy and climate crisis and though central government seem to be waking up (albeit slightly bleary eyed) too many people are still sound asleep and dreaming of a future in which everything is how they like it rather than how it will likely be.<br />
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<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-81405417946762099792013-04-08T18:33:00.005+01:002013-04-08T18:33:46.512+01:00What ELDC should do next...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">After reading in full the planning inspector's decision letter on Gayton wind farm, there is an interesting reference to the lack of a "realistic context" within the ELDC's local plan with regard to wind farms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;"><i>"The Local Plan is of
considerable age and there are no </i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">saved policies relating to
wind energy development. Any commercial wind </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>farm would fall foul of
the saved policies relating to landscape protection and I </i></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">have found that this
scheme would therefore conflict with the relevant saved </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">policies. However, the
Local Plan does not provide a realistic context for </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">considering wind farm
schemes and is therefore out of date. The Regional Plan </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">contains policies
supporting renewable energy schemes whilst also aiming to </i><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">protect the landscape and is consistent with the NPPF."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ELDC's latest <a href="http://www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/04CD0C89-2D37-4C8A-976D-801D0FEA58D5/0/ConsultationDraft.pdf">Draft core strategy Oct 2012</a> has a chapter on renewable energy. It is the penultimate one, which may be an indication of the importance of renewable energy to the authors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"<i>The
Council is keen to </i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>encourage
the exploitation of a range of renewable energy sources that </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">have
potential in East Lindsey, including passive and photovoltaic solar, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">biomass,
ground and air source heating and aquifer thermal energy where </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">this
will not impact adversely on local communities, biodiversity or </span></i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>landscape
character</i>."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spot the missing technology!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By ignoring the potential of wind and it's importance to the government's strategy in the UK energy road map to 2020, ELDC are in danger of becoming an irrelevance in the planning process. This is not a situation that we should encourage or support, regardless of our views on wind turbine deployment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Council's position on all large scale renewable developments..including wind farms is further clarified further on in the chapter on renewable energy.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"Large-scale
Renewable Energy developments will only be </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">supported
where they are located outside and do not have a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">significantly
adverse impact upon: </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">landscape areas defined as highly sensitive in the East </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lindsey
Landscape Character Assessment and areas </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">adjacent
thereto; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Beauty a</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">nd
where their individual or cumulative impact is not considered </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to
have a<b> negative impact</b> on </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">residential amenity; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">surrounding distinctive landscape qualities, townscapes </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and
historic landscape character; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the context of a historic garden, park, battlefield, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">designated
conservation area or other Heritage Assets; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">sites or features of natural history importance or </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">protected
species; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">the local economy; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">highway safety; </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">water environment and water quality."</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is unrealistic of the council to demand that a large scale renewable energy development should have no impact on the location in which it is sited. A wind farm by it's very size and construction will have visual impact on our landscape and many people would see that as negative in comparison to that which already exists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The "realistic context" that the inspector refers to in the decision letter requires our local authority to understand the challenges that face the nation's energy supply and accept the importance of wind farms (and other large scale renewable energy developments) to the UK's future energy mix. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If our council wish to have a meaningful voice in the deployment of wind farms in our district they must adopt a strategy on large scale renewable energy development that reflects the importance of the issues involved at a national level and not on the purely parochial.</span></div>
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Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-61808552841434983522013-04-06T18:51:00.001+01:002013-04-06T18:51:36.688+01:00Gayton-le-Marsh wind farm gets the green light!The good news from yesterday is that the 8 turbine wind farm proposed for Gayton-le-Marsh has been approved on appeal by the planning inspectorate.<br />
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It's been a long time coming but hopefully this substantial wind farm will be deployed without further delay and supply the equivalent of approx. 9,000 UK homes with electricity as soon as possible.<br />
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The report is well worth reading as it deals in some detail with the objections raised by the well organised<br />
NOWAG group.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transitiontownlouth.org.uk/docs/gayton.pdf">Inspectors report on Gayton wind farm appeal</a><br />
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One of the benefits of this scheme will be the community fund of £60,000 paid annually and divided between the surrounding parish councils during the lifetime of the project.<br />
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<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-17844819978389678622013-03-23T13:56:00.002+00:002013-03-23T14:00:46.714+00:00<br />
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I thought I'd keep a record of today's high winds that are helping to keep the lights on without burning the gas most people need to heat their home..it's 0 degC outside!<br />
Plus record this comment from Biff <br />
"Yesterday, at 7.04am, a pump on the Zeebrugge-Bacton interconnector<br />
failed and we lost almost a quarter of our gas supply. The news reports<br />
concentrated on the instant price spike, from ~90 to 150 pence per<br />
therm. The electricity generation industry reacted accordingly.<br />
If you look at the graphs carefully, particularly the second row - the<br />
weekly figures, you'll see the reduced supply from gas yesterday, coal<br />
going flat out and the shortfall made up, rather luckily, by a windy<br />
day. Things would have been a lot worse yesterday and today without that<br />
5GW of wind."</div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-30130773184081638782013-03-11T15:10:00.000+00:002013-03-11T15:10:59.914+00:00Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust oppose Delph Wind FarmLincolnshire Wildlife Trust have objected to a wind farm being located adjacent to Willow Tree Fen and Pinchbeck Fen Slipe Nature reserves <span style="line-height: 13.4pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/conservation/article.php?id=47" style="line-height: 13.4pt;">LWT Delph wind farm</a> and are encouraging LWT members to object too.<br />
Understandable you might think as their primary concern will be the effects the wind farm might have on the species that inhabit the reserves.<br />
But if you read on to the reasons for the objection you'll discover that 2 of the 3 reasons for objection relate to perceived disadvantages for <b>our</b> species.<br />
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<span style="color: #2b497d; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Trust's concerns are:<br />
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** Impacts of the turbines on wildlife, in particular birds, through direct
collision with the turbine blades and displacement from the nature reserves due
to disturbance from the turbines;<br />
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** Impacts on visitors to the nature reserves through noise and visual impact.
Would the song of the skylark for example still be audible to visitors with
wind turbines 200 metres away?<br />
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** Impacts on the fenland landscape character and open views.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The EIA undertaken by the developers indicates that there would be little impact to the environment from the development.<br />
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"A number of protected species use the site but collision risk impact assessments show that none of these species would be significantly effected by the proposed wind farm"<br />
<a href="http://www.wildfrontier-ecology.co.uk/development-services/wind-turbines/">Wild Frontier Ecology</a><br />
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So we're back to the reluctance of our species to do very much about the serious impact of global warming in the future, if it means compromising our pleasures today.<br />
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I'm a member of the LWT and I appreciate all that they do for increasing bio-diversity and protecting habitats but that doesn't excuse this selfish objection which has very little to do with concern for wildlife on a nature reserve that 4 years ago was a field of beans.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-25248914831329697652013-03-11T12:50:00.001+00:002013-03-11T12:50:46.106+00:00Letter to the press ref: R. Helmer<br />
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Last week on Radio Lincolnshire Roger Helmer UKIP MEP
declared that it was a “downright lie” to bring to public attention the growing
scientific consensus that global temperatures will rise beyond “safe” limits
unless we make drastic reductions in CO2 emissions.</div>
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Mr Helmer is UKIP’s spokesman on industry and energy. The following statements are from <a href="http://ukip.org/media/policies/energy.pdf">UKIP energy policy</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Under the heading <b>“Climate change” is so last
century”</b> Mr Helmer and colleagues make these statements ;<b> “ We do not
however regard CO2 as a pollutant. It is a natural trace gas in the atmosphere
which is essential to plant growth and life on earth” </b>followed by <b>“Higher CO2
levels increase agricultural crop yields and “green” the planet”</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #38761d;">These statements display a total disregard for the unequivocal
science that supports the “greenhouse effect “ i.e. increasing emissions of
greenhouse gases, of which CO2 is one, will warm up our planet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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For a more reputable global perspective comes this from the
World Bank, a co-operative of senior government ministers from 188 nations
around the world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Despite the global community’s best intentions to keep
global warming below a 2°C increase above pre-industrial climate, higher levels of warming are
increasingly likely. Scientists agree that countries’ current United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change emission pledges and commitments would most
likely result in 3.5 to 4°C warming. And the longer those pledges remain unmet,
the more likely a 4°C world becomes.”</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Dr. Jim Yong Kim<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
President,
World Bank Group November 2012 <a href="http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf">Why a 4 degree world must be avoided</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
views of UKIP and Roger Helmer should be treated with the contempt they deserve
for not only are they anti-wind they are anti-science too. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-41914502910331261942013-03-08T18:01:00.000+00:002013-03-09T12:54:14.837+00:00Here is a link to a radio debate I took part in this morning trying to balance the anti-wind campaign for 5 wind turbines at Temple Hill near Grantham.<br />
<br />
My discussion with Paul Miley of the ReVolt group is at 1.06<br />
Follow up comments from Cllr Martin Hill and Roger Helmer are at 2.06<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014w35n">Rod Whiting Show 08/03/13</a><br />
<br />
Pretty much as you'd expect apart from a passing reference in Paul Miley's comments about the Pro wind alliance getting support and money from the wind industry and a text from a member of the public saying that the Lincolnshire Pro wind alliance is funded by the wind industry.<br />
<br />
I'd just to make it perfectly clear that this is not the case. To put it plainly, we are not being rewarded to express support for wind farms.<br />
<br />
Our view that more wind farms need to be rapidly deployed to help address the challenges of global warming and UK energy security is personal and genuinely held.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your support<br />
James<br />
<br />
<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-52790731119151824152013-02-20T09:47:00.000+00:002013-02-20T09:47:15.696+00:00Reports of duplicate survey responsesThe credibility of the LCC's wind farm survey is cast further in doubt with the revelation that it was possible to complete the online survey any number of times from the same computer. One source reveals that they entered their views at least 30 times within the space of 15minutes.<br />
<br />
Is it possible for LCC to justify the adoption of their "anti-wind" guidelines on the back of this seriously flawed survey?<br />
<br />
I guess we'll find out on Friday.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-74272480166413606512013-02-20T09:37:00.000+00:002013-02-20T09:37:11.145+00:00Letter to councillors<br />
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
I emailed this statement to all Lincolnshire County Councillors last week.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Dear Councillors,</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Please find attached an article that I'm hoping will be published throughout Lincolnshire.</div>
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</div>
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The content makes it clear that we believe the LCC anti wind campaign is a serious abuse of council authority.</div>
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</div>
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Here are extracts from the Department for Communities and Local Government code of recommended practice on local authority publicity (March 2011), under the heading of Objectivity.</div>
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</div>
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<i>15. Local authorities should ensure that publicity relating to policies and proposals from central government is balanced and factually accurate. Such publicity may set out the local authority’s views and reasons for holding those views, but <b style="font-weight: bolder;">should avoid anything likely to be perceived by readers as constituting a political statement</b>, or being a commentary on contentious areas of public policy.</i></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
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<i>16. Any publicity describing the council’s policies and aims should be as objective as possible, concentrating on the facts or explanation or both. <b style="font-weight: bolder;">Local authorities should not use public funds to mount publicity campaigns whose primary purpose is to persuade the public to hold a particular view on a question of policy</b>. </i></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
We understand that the anti-wind guidelines are due to be discussed on the 22nd February. </div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
We urge you to attend that meeting and ensure that these guidelines are not approved as council policy.</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Furthermore, we ask that you pass a resolution that prevents future publication of council approved anti wind commentary.</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
</div>
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On behalf of the Lincolnshire Pro Wind Alliance</div>
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</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
James Pocklington</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #1f1f1f; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-63516022818662568022013-02-08T10:02:00.001+00:002013-02-08T10:02:54.892+00:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Leader of Lincolnshire County Council fails to
understand why anyone would think the council have a negative bias against onshore
wind farms or would consider the survey printed in the County News not to be a
fair reflection of public opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how to explain? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, my understanding of the way to gauge public opinion
is to randomly select a number of individuals through telephone or face to face
contact and then to ask a set of clearly phrased questions that allow a full range
of opinion to be registered. The questions should not be ambiguous, ensuring
that every interviewee has a similar understanding of the question before
answering it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the answers have been logged and recorded, the data
needs to be analysed and weighted to ensure that the sample results represent
an accurate proportion of the total population. This means taking care that the
views of one sector in terms of age, gender or location do not dominate the
final result.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A poll such as this can never factually reflect the views
of all of the population but it can give an idea of attitudes generally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The survey that Lincolnshire County Council produced was
really a “call to arms”, it was an invitation to those who had strong feelings
to have their say. It was pre-empted by months of anti wind farm rhetoric from
Councillor Hill, which made the position of the council perfectly plain. It was
not a poll of public opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were 4000 responses to the survey, 28% came from
East Lindsey district which has an active anti wind farm campaign group but
only has 19% of the population. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are approximately 750,000 adults living in
Lincolnshire so the survey had a response rate of about 0.5%, a low figure to
argue that the results represent a fair view of the whole county.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The survey results showed almost
unanimous support for the council guidelines to be considered by the planning
authorities, regardless of the fact that the guidelines have no weight in
planning law and cannot be considered by the planning authority. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The guidelines have never been
published in full within County News but they are available online. If you read
the full details and apply them to the existing 7 wind farms in Lincolnshire
then most would have failed to gain approval, let alone any new proposals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">National Planning legislation </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">demands “a presumption in favour of sustainable development”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. However the council
guidelines require “a presumption against wind turbine developments”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what is going on here? Why are the
council so intent on producing a set of planning guidelines that have no
legitimate function and directly contradict central government policy?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps this is a clue? This passage
is taken from a report written to the councillors authored by Alan Freeman LCC head
of planning, on the 6<sup>th</sup> June 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“As the author states, the
County Council is not the local planning authority nor is it a local plan
making body. As such the County Council has no ability to make planning
statements or policy and <b>this statement
should be given as a political statement only</b>” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://pai.lincolnshire.gov.uk:8080/minicms/CommRecDisplay.do;jsessionid=DFF3599388F156FCC27D8B3C1816A687?documentDescription=WIND+FARMS+-+UPDATE&extension=pdf&reportReference=9.0&location=VOLUME1&docId=1893871&documentType=Report&meetingRef=3195"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wind farms-update</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
point of the exercise, in my opinion, is to attempt to derail central
government policy on the continued deployment of onshore wind farms and support
the rebellious section of the Conservative party that do not believe global
warming is an issue worth bothering with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
is why I believe the behaviour of our county council in this matter is
improper. It represents a gross misuse of public funds and an abuse of the
powers delegated to them by the electorate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If
you agree that the council should stop promoting a negative image of wind power
then please sign the on line petition at <a href="http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/no-bias-on-wind">No bias on wind</a></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-74531956468202420722013-01-21T09:10:00.000+00:002013-01-21T09:10:28.442+00:00This Lincs Echo article continues the questions over the LCC's bias against wind<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Claims-wind-farm-bias-ridiculous-says/story-17879560-detail/story.html">http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Claims-wind-farm-bias-ridiculous-says/story-17879560-detail/story.html</a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-24994053155861858522013-01-16T18:40:00.000+00:002013-01-16T19:05:38.659+00:00Radio Lincolnshire interview 15/01/12<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012t74m">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012t74m</a> interview starts at 1h 39m (available till 21/01/13)<br />
<br />
You'll hear Cllr Hill say<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>We're not totally against wind farms</li>
<li>We've a duty of well being for all the residents in Lincolnshire</li>
<li>Someone had to take a stand and say "enough is enough"</li>
<li>Lots of money in wind farms and vested interests asked us to consult the public.</li>
<li>Science is showing wind technology is not reliable,not going to be sustainable, does not deliver and isn't worth a "pen".</li>
<li>I believe in democracy.</li>
<li>I object to being misrepresented, we are not issuing a biased survey.</li>
<li>The survey has had 2500 replies and so far 75-80% of people agree with us.</li>
</ul>
<div>
The survey is due to conclude on 21/01/13<br />
<br />
If you want to see how big a contribution Lincolnshire is making to the national drive for wind power<br />
check page 21 of " the case for and against onshore wind" listed in the useful links</div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-81451242456491166842013-01-08T15:31:00.000+00:002013-01-08T15:31:04.310+00:00No bias on windI've created an online petition directed at Lincolnshire County Council<br />
You can access it here. <a href="http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/no-bias-on-wind">No bias on wind</a><br />
<br />
Please take the time to add your name and forward to your contacts within Lincolnshire.<br />
<br />
Thanks<br />
<br />
James<br />
<br />
<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-60789744620933232652012-12-28T15:47:00.000+00:002012-12-28T15:47:09.861+00:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
(This letter has been been recently mailed to the 77 Lincolnshire County Councillors)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dear Councillor, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We are a
group of Lincolnshire residents who are concerned with recent pronouncements
from Lincolnshire County Council on the development of wind farms in
Lincolnshire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The recent
survey launched on the County Council web site is preceded by this statement. <i>“<span style="background: #FEFEFE; color: #111111;">A
tough stand against wind farms has already been taken by Lincolnshire County
Council, and we’d like to make that official policy. However, it’s only right
that we should first ask your opinion”.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: #FEFEFE; color: #111111; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Our questions are these;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;"> Why
incur costs to create official policy on matters outside your statutory duties?</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 14.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Are
you not contravening DCLG code of recommended practice for Local Authority
publicity</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 14.65pt; text-indent: -18pt;">particularly the reference
to balance and factual accuracy?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span><i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Local authorities should ensure that
publicity relating to policies and proposals from central government is
balanced and factually accurate. Such publicity may set out the local
authority’s views and reasons for holding those views, but should avoid
anything likely to be perceived by readers as constituting a political
statement, or being a commentary on contentious areas of public policy.”</span></i><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5670/1878324.pdf</span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Is
an online survey, containing questions with a degree of bias, launched within a
very narrow time frame, really the best way to gain a mandate for “official
policy” ?</span></li>
</ul>
<!--[if !supportLists]--><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In our view
it is essential that a proven, efficient, low carbon technology such as wind
should be dealt with impartially by our planning authorities. The world is
changing and we must accept that “business as usual” is a rapidly vanishing
option. The government’s renewed commitment to the potentially damaging search
for shale gas admirably indicates the level of desperation regarding the future
of UK energy supply.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We need to
install at least double the current capacity of on shore wind generation by
2020 to get within touching distance of the UK’s commitment to renewable
energy. Virtually all the units of electricity we produce with wind power
conserve gas resources for the future. We should not be advocating, directly or
indirectly, the unnecessary consumption of this irreplaceable fuel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In conclusion, wind power has a significant
capacity to help boost the Lincolnshire economy. Please find the time to read
more about the economic impact of wind turbines online at <a href="http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/meeting-energy-demand/wind/5229-onshore-wind-direct--wider-economic-impacts.pdf.">Economic impacts of onshore wind</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We ask for
your support to prevent the creation of an “official” anti-wind farm policy by
Lincolnshire County Council. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yours
sincerely </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">James Pocklington<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On behalf of Lincolnshire Pro Wind Alliance</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">These are the
on line survey questions and my comments<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">2. Wind farms should play a part in meeting Lincolnshire’s
future energy needs *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Wind farms are part of
a national strategy to install renewable energy for the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Is it feasible or even
desirable to demand that electricity generated in Lincolnshire is consumed in
Lincolnshire?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">3. Any wind farm development should give due regard to
other social and environmental considerations *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is extremely
unlikely that anyone would disagree with that statement so why ask it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">4. How important are the following factors in deciding
where to locate new wind farm developments?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All of the following
factors are important considerations in the location of wind farms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">a. The impact on Lincolnshire’s landscapes, including areas
of outstanding natural beauty and coastal conservation *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not important at all</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All wind farms are a
visual intrusion to the Lincolnshire landscape, you cannot hide them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">How they impact our
perception of the view depends on how much importance we attach to their
function.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">b. The impact on areas of historic or scientific interest *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not important at all</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Every planning
application needs to be assessed thoroughly to determine the impact of wind
turbines on any location, including historic and SSSI. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">c. The impact on the day-to-day lives of residents *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not important at all</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Technical solutions have been introduced to minimise impact
on nearby residents, but the degree to which they effect an individual does
appear to be related to a general acceptance of wind farm function. Where
wind farm installations directly benefit the community the levels of
acceptance within the community are much higher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">d. The impact on the county’s tourism economy </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not very important</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Not important at all</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Apart from the anecdotal, is there any evidence that wind
farms significantly affect visitor numbers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">A recent DECC survey found that only 12% of those
interviewed opposed the use of on shore wind. You can find the public
attitudes tracking survey at;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<a href="http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/">DECC tracker survey</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 149.4pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 149.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">5. The council’s guidelines should be taken into
consideration by local planning authorities and developers when deciding
where to locate new developments *</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Agree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Strongly disagree</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">No opinion<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 149.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308">
<div style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">There is no statutory
requirement for the county council to have their view considered and that
should remain the case. The council should commit resources to their existing
statutory challenges and not seek out fresh ones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130571677878529899.post-22698722938618550802012-12-18T18:15:00.000+00:002012-12-18T18:15:14.969+00:00L.C.C. consult the people..sort of ?<br />
Lincolnshire County Council have decided to go to the people and ask about wind farms. They could have commissioned an outside company to do the survey which would have given the result some credibility, but have instead opted to do it themselves presumably in the belief that only the residents that are anti-wind will take the time to protest.<br />
<br />
Not sure how long this has been live but they want replies by 17th January 2013.<br />
You can complete the survey here : <a href="http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/planning-and-development/wind-farms/">LCC windfarm survey </a><br />
<br />
These are the questions asked on the online survey. I'm not sure what they'll do if the result doesn't back up their stated position.. presumably retract it?<br />
<br />
The questions are:<br />
<br />
2. Wind farms should play a part in meeting Lincolnshire’s future energy needs *<br />
Strongly agree<br />
Agree<br />
Disagree<br />
Strongly disagree<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
3. Any wind farm development should give due regard to other social and environmental considerations *<br />
Strongly agree<br />
Agree<br />
Disagree<br />
Strongly disagree<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
4. How important are the following factors in deciding where to locate new wind farm developments?<br />
<br />
a. The impact on Lincolnshire’s landscapes, including areas of outstanding natural beauty and coastal conservation *<br />
Very important<br />
Important<br />
Not very important<br />
Not important at all<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
b. The impact on areas of historic or scientific interest *<br />
Very important<br />
Important<br />
Not very important<br />
Not important at all<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
c. The impact on the day-to-day lives of residents *<br />
Very important<br />
Important<br />
Not very important<br />
Not important at all<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
d. The impact on the county’s tourism economy *<br />
Very important<br />
Important<br />
Not very important<br />
Not important at all<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
5. The council’s guidelines should be taken into consideration by local planning authorities and developers when deciding where to locate new developments *<br />
Strongly agree<br />
Agree<br />
Disagree<br />
Strongly disagree<br />
No opinion<br />
<br />
<br />
Please take a bit of time to complete the survey and good luck in selecting answers that reflect your views!<br />
<br />
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15816528114779107407noreply@blogger.com0