Turbine or not turbine? (From Thisisdorset)

Turbine or not turbine?

7:18pm Thursday 11th September 2008

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A CONTROVERSIAL giant wind turbine at Poole which would have towered over Alderney homes has been shelved.

Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water has withdrawn its plans for a 100m high wind turbine - which would have risen taller than the tower of Big Ben.

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However the lull in the storm over the site in Francis Avenue could be temporary - the proposal has been stayed, not killed off.

"I'm happy for the residents," said ward member Cllr Lindsay Wilson. "But they should have withdrawn this last year so people could be at ease."

Resident John Latimer of Francis Avenue, who would have seen the 25 metre long blades turning from his kitchen window, said: "I'm really pleased.

"I thought we would probably be affected by some of the noise coming from it and to look out on that great big windmill is not the best of sights," he said.

"There are places with open countryside nearby where a wind turbine could be put - but not right in the middle of an estate."

Ward councillor Tony Trent said the turbine would be less than 300m from the nearest house, while guidelines showed a minimum distance of 400-500m.

"While I support the principle of wind turbine construction in a wide range of localities, it became clear from talking to experts that this scheme was badly thought through and did not meet the planning guidelines," he said.

Roger Harrington, technical director for the water company, said the proposal had been withdrawn because there were a number of matters that needed clarifying including finance, environmental issues and objection from neighbours and the airport.

"That could take a year or so," he said. "We felt it was not really fair to have it sitting around, nobody knowing what's happening.

"We have withdrawn it for the time being. That's not to say we have abandoned it."

He added: "We still believe as a matter of principle, it's the right thing to do."

He apologised to people inconvenienced by the application and said if the company came back with another plan it would fully consult.

Bournemouth council has opposed the scheme but Poole, which makes the final decision, said it had pointed out inaccuracies in the environmental statement to the company and received no response.

"We wrote to them offering them the opportunity to withdraw the application before it was disposed of.

"The company have decided to withdraw it but could, of course, resubmit their application in the future with the corrected and updated information," said Peter Watson, head of planning design and control services.

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