Wind farms in Northumberland
Robin Dower brings us up to date
The escape from carbon producing sources of energy for generating electricity is proving exceedingly difficult and politically contentious. The Government has now announced that a significant part of the future production of electricity for the National Grid will be from nuclear power stations and is also committed to an offshore wind farm programme. The nuclear option is likely to focus on development at existing nuclear power stations to replace plant that will be de-commissioned over the next ten to fifteen years. The Scottish Executive have indicated their opposition to nuclear development north of the Border so it is likely that the English sites mainly round the South-East will see new schemes brought forward perhaps through a streamlined planning procedure designed to speed up the progress of such major projects.
In the meantime public inquiries are hearing evidence from developers and objectors to the first significant proposals for wind farms in the open countryside of Northumberland. In November an inquiry at Alnwick considered the impact of proposals for a wind farm of 18 turbines at Middlemoor above and to the west of North Charlton. This is a relatively low-lying shoulder of land between 130 and 160 metres above sea level on which turbines of 120 metres height will be clearly visible from the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which lies only three miles to the east. From the site one can see about 20 miles of the coast, quite clearly identifying Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh and Lindisfarne Castles. Will one want to see a horizon of turbines from those popular places in return? To the west, inland from Middlemoor lies the gritstone ridge above Chillingham Castle with the popular National Trust viewpoint, Ros Castle, only three miles from the nearest turbine.
That wind farm was taken on its own at the Inquiry, although immediately north another proposal at Wandylaw (up to 10 turbines) may well reach application stage this year and the whole process begin again.
By contrast, in the centre of the county west of Kirkwhelpington, stretching right across to the A68, three wind farm proposals have been brought together to one public inquiry opened at Newcastle Airport Hotel on 15th January. The proposals for Ray Moor and Green Rigg follow a long ridge of high ground, all at about 300 metres above sea level, forming the long distance skyline from south and north approaches and at the same level close to important view points at Winters Gibbet and Wanny Crags. The Steadings wind farm would occupy slightly lower land south of the other two, in grass pastureland round Plashetts down towards Throckrington. The total of the three sites would be about 60 turbines covering a very large area indeed, some of it unavoidably conspicuous and intrusive in countryside of rare spaciousness and tranquillity.
While the Society supports the search for clean alternatives to fossil fuelled power generation, it has submitted proof of evidence to support the view that both at Middlemoor and at the Ray Moor/Green Rigg/Steadings sites the proposed developments would have an unacceptably harmful impact on the character of the landscapes involved and on public appreciation of them and has called for the proposals to be rejected.
City and County
February 2008
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