Ecotricity have fired the starting pistol on their attempt to construct 4 wind turbines 700m from our house by submitting an application for an 80m high wind monitoring mast.

Does this not strike anyone else as a rather odd example of cart & horse? Surely they should knnow how windy a site is before they announce plans to build enormous wind turbines? Or maybe they’re hoping that “if you build it, the wind will come” (to paraphrase Field of Dreams) will be true?

You can view the application here.

The mast will only be 80m high (compared to the 120m height of the turbines) but the MoD will require aviation lighting to be installed on the mast and deflectors on the guy ropes. Hello blinking red light in our dark night sky!

It’s also interesting that the application doesn’t include or refer to an environmental assessment for the site. The fact that they are willing to spend the money on erecting a monitoring mast probably means they are sure the site is suitable for the turbines, but if the assessment revealed the site were unsuitable the mast would still be there spoiling the views until it’s 18 month stay was finished. Surely this should be completed before permission for the mast is granted?

We’ll be submitting objections as we want the council to appreciate how little support the development has, though in reality the chances of the application being rejected are slim. As the saying goes, the more the merrier. Submissions need to be made by 26th July 2012 and will have more weight if personal and can be made by anyone. Your objection can be submitted on the website and so if you have a spare 5 minutes…

GASPS have sent a useful email with some points to emphasise in objections, so if anyone wants to help by lodging an objection (you don’t have to live in the area or even the country to object and all submissions will be considered) they can be contacted for the information.

We’d be grateful for any support that can be given at this early stage of the process.

UPDATE
It appears that the registration process for the planning site requires a UK postcode. I’m not sure why, but will contact them and see if there is a way to register without needing one!