Musings from the Merse
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Don Quixote Alliance with Windmills Shock
Its a change to find a letter writer published in the Berwickshireactually in favour of wind farms. Read on:
SIR, - I write in response to the windmill issues featured in last week’s Berwickshire News.
These are made with special reference to the Drone Hill development and the setting up of an action group to oppose that siting. It matters not where prospective windmills are to be positioned the emotive, subjective (and at times ignorant) outcry is underpinned by the latent attitude we all harbour of “please not on our patch - put them in someone else’s back yard”.
Recognising again the controversial nature of the renewable energy debate it is never the less farcical to read exaggerated comments which suggest that the development will “devastate”, “industrialise”, “endanger” and “destroy” the eastern Berwickshire community at large! What are we talking about? Once established these are minimal in terms of disruption and pollution (partly because they operate without eight hourly shift changes necessitating hundreds of workers’ vehicles moving on and off the site). Fear of drivers being distracted is common to all roads at all times and anyone capable of such distraction from the A1 road certainly won’t be looking safely or responsibly at the road on which they are travelling.
I do feel concern, however, for the opening up of routes to the moor for the installation period. Of course this will require a high degree of heavy goods vehicles and plant machinery accessing this side of the county. Having experienced these problems on several occasions whilst living in Cumbria, I know that it passes and the “devastation” and “destruction” is then made good. Sheep and cattle were grazing peacefully alongside the windmills when I drove towards Whitehaven last weekend. The overall scene, to me, was more pleasing that several housing developments presently in progress in east Berwickshire.
Last week’s comments regarding the loss of flora and fauna and ancient hedgerow and trees during these operations had a ‘deja vu’ and amusing effect on me. The Templehall area has already lost ancient hedges and habitats for ladybirds, butterflies, nesting birds and much more with the arrival of property developers and builders, opening up what was a delightful garden, a child’s paradise, with hedges three times my height and full of wildlife. This was at a cost to some but also to the benefit of those who now enjoy the lovely housing development as their home.
Inevitably all change comes at a price. Climate change will be the costliest of our generation even if we do adopt a positive attitude to any effort being made to help. Of course renewables alone are not the answer but we must all “pay” something towards a solution.
O. BELL,
Fairwinds, Allanton.
I absolutely agree with some of the points made about the over the top emotive and sometimes plain wrong arguments against wind turbines. Certainly they will hardly do more damage to the local ecosystem than farmers and SBC trimmers with their mechanised scalping of our Berwickshire hedges along the roads too often timed to coincide with birds' nesting seasons. Can't pin that one entirely on the developers. But I wonder where Mr Bell (indeed the name is so familiar)has found the lovely housing developments to which he refers? Fishwick? Not yet. Be patient Mr B. Your day will come. Tioch fhaigh bhur la as Sinn Fein might have it. The Orchard Paxton? Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder and all minority opinions welcome. Hutton Think Tank (Media, Presentation, Spin and Plain Daft Section) is offering an annual award for the lovliest housing development in East Berwickshire. So hurry Mr B,suggestions; please entries close at dinner time today.
I suppose Mr B is inevitably a fan (no pun intended) of Turbines. Why else would he live in a house called
Fairwinds.
Its a change to find a letter writer published in the Berwickshireactually in favour of wind farms. Read on:
SIR, - I write in response to the windmill issues featured in last week’s Berwickshire News.
These are made with special reference to the Drone Hill development and the setting up of an action group to oppose that siting. It matters not where prospective windmills are to be positioned the emotive, subjective (and at times ignorant) outcry is underpinned by the latent attitude we all harbour of “please not on our patch - put them in someone else’s back yard”.
Recognising again the controversial nature of the renewable energy debate it is never the less farcical to read exaggerated comments which suggest that the development will “devastate”, “industrialise”, “endanger” and “destroy” the eastern Berwickshire community at large! What are we talking about? Once established these are minimal in terms of disruption and pollution (partly because they operate without eight hourly shift changes necessitating hundreds of workers’ vehicles moving on and off the site). Fear of drivers being distracted is common to all roads at all times and anyone capable of such distraction from the A1 road certainly won’t be looking safely or responsibly at the road on which they are travelling.
I do feel concern, however, for the opening up of routes to the moor for the installation period. Of course this will require a high degree of heavy goods vehicles and plant machinery accessing this side of the county. Having experienced these problems on several occasions whilst living in Cumbria, I know that it passes and the “devastation” and “destruction” is then made good. Sheep and cattle were grazing peacefully alongside the windmills when I drove towards Whitehaven last weekend. The overall scene, to me, was more pleasing that several housing developments presently in progress in east Berwickshire.
Last week’s comments regarding the loss of flora and fauna and ancient hedgerow and trees during these operations had a ‘deja vu’ and amusing effect on me. The Templehall area has already lost ancient hedges and habitats for ladybirds, butterflies, nesting birds and much more with the arrival of property developers and builders, opening up what was a delightful garden, a child’s paradise, with hedges three times my height and full of wildlife. This was at a cost to some but also to the benefit of those who now enjoy the lovely housing development as their home.
Inevitably all change comes at a price. Climate change will be the costliest of our generation even if we do adopt a positive attitude to any effort being made to help. Of course renewables alone are not the answer but we must all “pay” something towards a solution.
O. BELL,
Fairwinds, Allanton.
I absolutely agree with some of the points made about the over the top emotive and sometimes plain wrong arguments against wind turbines. Certainly they will hardly do more damage to the local ecosystem than farmers and SBC trimmers with their mechanised scalping of our Berwickshire hedges along the roads too often timed to coincide with birds' nesting seasons. Can't pin that one entirely on the developers. But I wonder where Mr Bell (indeed the name is so familiar)has found the lovely housing developments to which he refers? Fishwick? Not yet. Be patient Mr B. Your day will come. Tioch fhaigh bhur la as Sinn Fein might have it. The Orchard Paxton? Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder and all minority opinions welcome. Hutton Think Tank (Media, Presentation, Spin and Plain Daft Section) is offering an annual award for the lovliest housing development in East Berwickshire. So hurry Mr B,suggestions; please entries close at dinner time today.
I suppose Mr B is inevitably a fan (no pun intended) of Turbines. Why else would he live in a house called
Fairwinds.
Comments:
My dislike of wind turbines is well known. I've written regularly to the Scotsman and the Berwickshire on the subject. And yes there's always an element of NIMBY-ism in anything that we do - we wouldn't be human if there wasn't. However Mr Bell's remarks are a little scatterbrained.
While he may like the look of them many tourists don't and the most recent survey suggests a very significant proportion of tourists would not visit an area where there are windfarms.
Much of the argument has always hinged around the unfettered and non-strategic approach to wind farms that has been allowed by the Scottish Executive.
The damage to eco systems is often because where they are sited is unused moorland, like Crystal Rig or Fallago Ridge. Sinking hundreds of thousands of tonnes of concrete into Berwickshire’s moorland is not good for the eco system.
Germany has over ten times the number of turbines that we have in the UK at present and it produces an insignificant amount of their country's electricity, which is necessitating the building of well over 20 new fossil fuelled power stations. The point is turbines will not save the planet.
Turbines are all about making money for the developer and the landowner, the developer in the case of Drone Hill is a company backed by French money. The subsidies paid for this electricity makes them both excessive profits that we are paying for.
Saving electricity should be our first priority, but then there’s not much money in that is there?
While he may like the look of them many tourists don't and the most recent survey suggests a very significant proportion of tourists would not visit an area where there are windfarms.
Much of the argument has always hinged around the unfettered and non-strategic approach to wind farms that has been allowed by the Scottish Executive.
The damage to eco systems is often because where they are sited is unused moorland, like Crystal Rig or Fallago Ridge. Sinking hundreds of thousands of tonnes of concrete into Berwickshire’s moorland is not good for the eco system.
Germany has over ten times the number of turbines that we have in the UK at present and it produces an insignificant amount of their country's electricity, which is necessitating the building of well over 20 new fossil fuelled power stations. The point is turbines will not save the planet.
Turbines are all about making money for the developer and the landowner, the developer in the case of Drone Hill is a company backed by French money. The subsidies paid for this electricity makes them both excessive profits that we are paying for.
Saving electricity should be our first priority, but then there’s not much money in that is there?
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Just reading your thoughts re: Mr(s) Bell. I wonder if one of the developments referred to is at Whitsome Hill ? Not to mention the odd plots that have seem to have sprung up recently around that neck of the woods and in Allanton itself.
Regards
Does Richard Havers have the answer to this query?
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Hello
Just reading your thoughts re: Mr(s) Bell. I wonder if one of the developments referred to is at Whitsome Hill ? Not to mention the odd plots that have seem to have sprung up recently around that neck of the woods and in Allanton itself.
Regards
Does Richard Havers have the answer to this query?
