Action Against Matlock Moor Wind Farm Proposal

Reasons to Vote NO

  1. Scale of turbines grossly out of proportion with surrounding landscape.

    Some local residents live within half a mile from the proposed site. The turbines will have an adverse affect on the residents of all the small communities around the site. Many of these communities lie within the immediate valley, to the east of the site. This area is a landscape in miniature, its confined area of gently sloping hills is enjoyed by all its residents. Views from the various properties within the valley only extend as far as the tops of the surrounding small hills. Five, four hundred feet, turbines on top of one of these small hills will be grossly out of proportion to the visible surroundings and as such is totally unacceptable. These five turbines are much taller than we were led to believe. They are now to be some 413 feet high. Twice as tall as the existing test mast. They represent a gigantic major intrusion into our beautiful landscape.

  2. The area in which the Wind farm is proposed is adjacent to a Special Landscape Area.

    The area adjacent to the proposed site is a Special Landscape Area which is a green field site dominated by a large area of very important unimproved farmland. Planning Policy NE2 states, 'new development or extensions to existing development on land adjoining a Special Landscape Area will be permitted providing it would not have a detrimental effect on the visual amenity, character and function of the Special Landscape Area'. The proposed wind farm would have a detrimental effect on the visual amenity and character of the Special Landscape Area making any planning application for an industrial wind farm development totally inappropriate for this site.

  3. Construction company unsympathetic to local needs.

    West Coast Energy is not a local company, and is therefore unlikely to care about the local community. The company is based in Mold, Flintshire, Wales, and will be totally unsympathetic and out of touch with the feelings of the local residents. West Coast Energy are taking advantage of current taxpayer subsidies , typically 60%-70% of the developers income each year. Windfarm Developers subsidies will be costing us taxpayers 6 billion pounds each year by 2020.

  4. Wind Farm will be seen from many miles away and visible from Peak Park.

    These turbines are massive and it is expected that they will be visible from as far afield as the Humber Bridge. They will certainly be visible from large areas within the Peak District National Park and from most other local areas up to 30 to 40 miles away in all directions and as such should not be given consent.

  5. Noise Pollution.

    The noise legislation that the wind industry is working to dates back to 1997 and is now outdated as turbines have increased enormously in size and capacity since then. The noise emitted, is constant for 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year if the turbines are working as they're intended. They will emit a great deal of noise pollution up to 1¼ miles away from the source. This noise nuisance is a complex mix of low frequency noise, infrasound and amplitude modulation. Low frequency noise was used as a torture during the second world war. This noise cannot be compared to traffic noise, it is a different kind of noise. The houses close to the site will suffer the most, but also because of the special acoustics of the valley to the east of the site, areas such as Uppertown, Brockhurst, Overend, and Kelstedge will suffer a significant increase to the background noise they have become accustomed to over the years, as will Cuckoostone and Flash Dam areas.

  6. Health Problems.

    There is a great amount of evidence of ill health problems associated with wind farms when they are sited too close to homes. Problems reported have been anxiety, emotional stress, nervous complaints, nausea, headaches, instability, argumentativeness, changes in mood and other more general psychiatric categories like, neurosis, psychosis and hysteria have all been well researched and documented. (Berglund and Lindvall, researched 1995). Despite much overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the wind farm industry deny there are any health problems associated with living close to wind turbines. The evidence speaks for itself, people are having to leave their homes to try to regain their health.

  7. Visual Pollution - 'Flicker'

    Residents living near to turbines on other sites report that they are aware of a 'strobing or flickering effect' which is caused when the sun is behind the turbine blades or reflecting off the surface of them, this is evident even when not looking directly at the rotating blades. Flickering shadows caused by the rotating blades are likely to affect golfers on the nearby Matlock golf course in the late evening in summer. The properties to the North West of the site near Flash Dam will be significantly affected by strobing and flickering in the mornings in winter, this phenomena may also affect the Amber valley in the evening during the summer months. Flicker is also likely to affect motorists driving along Wirestone Lane, off the Matlock A632. This is most likely to occur in the late afternoon or early evening. This flicker has been shown to cause epilepsy, migraine, nausea and instability.

  8. Turbines too close to properties.

    The proposed turbines are to be sited too close to our properties. The current recommendations throughout Europe state that there should be a 2km buffer zone between properties and turbines. Some counties in some states of USA require all wind farm planning applications to observe a 2 mile buffer zone. New wind farms in Denmark have to be sited at sea. Most informed qualified opinion in Britain is recommending a minimum buffer zone of 1¼ miles or 2,000 metres. Efforts are being made to update the present legislation in the UK to bring this 1¼ mile buffer zone recommendation into being. Many houses around this present proposed wind farm are well within this 1¼ mile buffer zone and the occupants are likely to be affected by noise pollution and strobing. Some properties are only ½ mile away from the proposed turbines, others are even closer.

  9. Devaluation of local property values.

    The proposed wind farm will have already devalued our properties and made them less attractive to purchasers. Unless this proposal is defeated, evidence shows that we stand to lose something on average in the region of 20% and up to 50% of the value should the wind farm go ahead.

  10. Danger to Walkers and Ramblers.

    There is a public footpath which runs straight through the centre of the site and underneath the turbines. Planning guidance will normally not permit a footpath to be within the blade diameter because of safety concerns. With the turbines in their proposed position the footpath will have to be moved. During the last 25 years this area has become an amenity area for ramblers and dog walkers and for people generally seeking the peace and quiet of the countryside. The Amber valley area to the west of Kelstedge and the east of the site is known by locals as 'The Quiet Area'. This area will be adversely affected and the enjoyment of walkers and ramblers in the vicinity will be spoilt by the constant noise from these turbines.

  11. Environmental issues.

    Ducks and geese use this area as a flight path between Flash Dam (now called Darwin Lake) and Ogston Reservoir and are flying at a low level between these two points. They are likely to get caught up in the blades. A flock of Lapwings regularly winter on the proposed site and a number of pairs have been reported nesting in the centre of this area during the past four years. The very rare Nightjar nests some 500 metres from the proposed site. These birds are very sensitive and there are only around 1,500 pairs of them recorded in Britain. These birds have nested here as long as local people can remember. The wind farm will endanger their existence in the area.

  12. Misleading information from the developers.

    The wind farm industry in general has gained a reputation for using misleading and exaggerated information to win public opinion and planning approvals. For example - the carbon emissions benefits claimed by the developers has been proven to be doubly overstated only very recently by the Advertising Standards Agency. West Coast Energy are claiming that these five turbines will provide enough electricity for 7,000 homes. National statistics state that on average wind turbines in Britain are only 27% efficient, due to the insufficiency and inconsistency of the available wind during the remainder of the time. Wind in the UK becomes less constant as you travel further south. It is envisaged, by independent research, that the five turbines proposed for this site will only be approximately 23% efficient. That is to say these turbines with an installed capacity of 12.5 megawatts will only produce 2.875 megawatts which will equate to an average supply to each of the 7,000 households of only 410 watts at any one time. Only enough electricity for four 100 watt electric light bulbs per household. To illustrate; if everyone within the Matlock and Ashover areas were to reduce their electricity consumption by the equivalent of four 100 watt light bulbs this would cancel out the perceived need for this wind farm. Calculated at an average of 23% capacity, at peak consumption times, these wind turbines will only generate enough electricity for 350 homes.

  13. Wind Turbines vs Power Stations.

    It will require 1,000 wind turbines or 200 wind farms, like the one proposed here, to produce as much energy as one conventional power station. However, wind turbines will never replace a power station because of the intermittency and unreliability of the wind, therefore the conventional power station cannot be switched off.

  14. Government Targets.

    To meet Government targets 5,000 of these turbines will have to be built by 2010 and a further 15,000 of them by 2020. Can you imagine how our beautiful countryside is going to look if these Government targets are achieved? Wind turbines sited at sea are more efficient than those on-shore because the wind is more constant.

  15. Financial issues.

    West Coast Energy, the company applying for planning permission, has offered a fund to each of the two local councils which could amount to as much as £650,000 each over the 25 year life of this proposed wind farm. This fund will be designed to benefit a range of community projects which will be totally unconnected with the proposed wind farm. It has been expressed before a planning application has been submitted to the council. This can only be described as an inducement to influence public and local council opinion, and it is obviously intended to influence the planning process. Why would West Coast Energy need to make such a generous offer if Wind farms are as harmless as they claim that they are? The offer of such a fund by the industry is divisive and is calculated to split the local community in order to gain more support for their proposals.

  16. The proposed development is not part of Ashover’s parish plan.

    The Parish Council saw the formation of a volunteer group to draw up a Parish Plan as an opportunity to develop a local voice and assist the various authorities to understand local issues more clearly. The plan was published in the spring of 2006 after full consultation with local residents. Wind Farms were not part of Ashover’s plan and comments made many times to the formation Group during the course of their work was that "Residents like Ashover the way it is" and "We don't want it changed!"

In summary

Please bear in mind the above points and consider those of us within our community who live the closest to this proposed development. 110 residential homes and 165 commercial holiday properties all lie within 2,000 metres of the site and will be greatly affected in many ways by this proposed wind farm. That equates to approximately 330 residents and as many as 1,000 holidaymakers being affected at any one time within the 2,000 metre radius. Be aware, if planning consent is given for these 5 turbines, it is then a simple process for the developer to obtain permission to extend this industrial development along the entire length of the horizon.

Please support Action Against Matlock Moor Wind Farm Proposal

AMP are not opposed to wind farms providing they are away from residential housing.