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Northumberland
wind farm scheme sparks protest from local church
Published 11/06/05
A proposed wind farm scheme close to Barrasford and
has provoked a frosty response from the church.
Up to fourteen
50 metre high wind turbines could be located in a beautiful
corner of the Northumberland countryside near to the historic
church of St Aidan at Thockrington
in Northumberland
The letter below
has been submitted to the Hexham Courant newspaper by vicar
John Wylam to alert local residents as to the draw backs
associated with the wind farm scheme.
If you have
a view on the controversial proposals for the possible wind
farm in Northumberland please contact
us.
The letter reads
as follows:
CHOLLERTON VICARAGE,
HEXHAM,
NE46 4TF
Tel 01434 681721
The Editor, The Hexham Courant, Beaumont Street, Hexham
4 June 2005
Dear Sir,
The impression has been given that there is little opposition
to the siting of a 50m wind monitoring mast and a subsequent
wind turbine development south of the grade 2 star listed
Church of St. Aidan, Thockrington. However, Thockrington
Parochial Church Council, responsible for an ancient public
building that will be most directly affected by the development,
is not surprisingly totally opposed to the siting of the
50m monitoring mast, which is to be the fore-runner of a
high profile development of 14 wind turbines. Furthermore,
as if to add insult to injury, these views can only now
be expressed because in addition to the incredulous prospect
of such insensitive development, the PCC was not even consulted
until, having indirectly found out about the application,
it made known the implications of the church's protected
status and significance to the community.
The church features in authoritative guides
to Northumberland, an icon standing sentinel for 900 years
on the exposed ridge of the Whin Sill through the turmoil
of border fortunes and weather. Little did anyone conceive
the risk would finally come from 'sustainable' development
(sic). The wind turbines will be 100 metres in height at
the zenith of their blade - three times the height of the
Angel of the North. Their scale and impact will completely
dominate the landscape, destroy the beautiful views from
the church to the plain below, and from the A68, and inevitably
blight the life of the church - both the regular worshipping
community, and passing visitors attracted by its solitude.
Thockrington Church is a "working church";
it is used for worship, for baptisms, weddings and burials.
The churchyard is cut regularly, and graves are tended:
those who have loved ones buried there have voiced their
unhappiness and opposition to the proposed scheme. There
is a steady stream of visitors, it is on a marked cycle
route, and it is on the proposed itinerary of a long distance
walk for pilgrims and others to be known as King Oswald's
Way. Two footpaths go near to the site of the wind mast,
and through the area proposed for the wind turbines.
Spirituality today is very much about stillness
and silence. The movement of the blades and the destruction
of the vista will be a distraction to those who seek peace
and quiet. Thockrington Church is for many a special place.
The Northumberland Joint Structure Plan adopted
2005 is quite clear that not every location is suitable
for renewable energy projects: the visual amenity, the character
of the landscape, and the impact on the archaeological and
built heritage must be taken into account. The Tynedale
Local District Plan also lays out a number of conditions
that have to be met. Quite clearly Thockrington is not a
suitable place for a wind farm because of its effect on
the landscape, the setting of a historic building, the immense
upheaval to the land caused by construction work, and the
threat to birds who fly to and from Hallington and Colt
Crag reservoirs.
It is entirely right and proper to be good
stewards of the created world, and concerned about the emission
of green-house gases with the resultant effect of global
warming, hence the need for the generation of electricity
from renewable sources. This letter is a protest about an
insensitive and inappropriate application for a 50m wind
monitoring mast and the proposal to site 14 wind turbines
in an area to the south of Thockrington Church.
Yours sincerely,
John Wylam
(Vicar of Thockrington, and Chairman of the
PCC)
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