Update on the Power Station and Wind Turbine Issues
Dear Local Resident,
Site Compound at Green Farm, Shepperdine – planning application PT09/5240/F
The planning officer dealing with this application is recommending consent. I am concerned about this proposal as it would extend the life of the compound to four years and increase the volume and size of the traffic accessing the site via The Naite and Shepperdine Road, which are both country lanes. I believe there is an alternative – a new road coming off the existing Power Station Road near the main gate of the power station and along land that Horizon already own. Therefore, I have called in the application to the Council’s planning committee for it to make the final decision. Councillors will be visiting the site on the morning of Friday 16th April and then making the final decision at a meeting on Thursday 29th April at the Council Offices, Castle Street. Both of these are public meetings and at both meetings there will opportunities for Oldbury Parish Council, representatives from local residents and myself to address the planning committee members with our concerns.
Application for Upgrading Power Lines between Oldbury and Berkeley
There are currently plans with South Gloucestershire Council planners to upgrade the existing power line between Berkeley and Oldbury along the power line that currently stops in front of Knights Farm in Shepperdine. Central Networks West PLC want to extend the current line to the power station and this will mean the removal of the existing pylons and the erection of new and higher ones. Under the Electricity Act of 1989 the final decision is taken by the Secretary of State in London. South Gloucestershire Council has been consulted about the application. Oldbury-on-Severn Parish Council has been very proactive in setting up a meeting with the applicant, which I have been invited to attend, to find out exactly what the work means and how it will be carried out. The applicant states that the work is nothing to do with the possible new station at Shepperdine, but is to strengthen the national grid once the existing Oldbury Power Station is decommissioned. My overriding concern is how the work, if it goes ahead, will be done to minimise the effects on local residents. The application can be viewed via South Gloucestershire Council’s website, the reference number is PT10/0111/OHL.
Proposal for Seven Wind Turbines in Hill’s Lane
‘Wind Prospect’, a wind farm company, is starting to promote proposals for seven wind turbines in ‘The Meads’ between Shepperdine, Hill and Rockhampton. The first turbine would be on farmland off Hill’s Lane (the road between The Naite and Hill Village) and the others would arc back in a row into Duckhole near Beggarsbush Lane and Stoneyard Lane. The turbines would 130 metres high to the tip of the blade – the current Oldbury Power Station is 70 metres high.
A website is at http://stoneyardlanewindfarm.co.uk/
This is early days for this proposal but I would be very interested in your views on wind turbines in this location. Please contact me with your thoughts and / or concerns by e-mail at matthew.riddle@southglos.gov.uk or by telephoning me on 413263.
Yours Faithfully
Cllr Matthew Riddle
PS: Please do contact me on these or any other issues.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
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Do SANE support the wind farm at Stoneyard Lane I wonder? No fewer power stations will be needed how ever much wind power we invest in because we need power when the wind doesn't blow. So anyone who believes that building the wind farm will mean no nuclear at Oldbury is wrong. When the wind blows it will generate less energy than that needed to power Thornbury. Secondly, once the 4 127m turbines are in place it will contribute to the urbanisation and destruction of the peace and views of this quiet area. This will mean that any objection to Oldbury Nuclear Power station will not be able to use the fact that the area is 'unspoilt'. People need to wake up to the fact that disfferent energy sources will be needed in future (including wind, biofuel, nuclear etc) and that it is simply a matter of choosing the best site for each. I agree with SANE that putting a nuclear power in a flood plain is sheer madness but I also believe that the Stoneyard Lane site is not particularly windy, will be detrimental to the amenity of the area as well as a waste of the taxpayers money that it will swallow up.
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