July 21, 2006
Burnham MP attacks County Council plans for
more wind farms
 Burnham-On-Sea's
MP David Heathcoat-Amory has attacked controversial plans by Somerset
County Council to build new wind farms at Brean, Edithmead and
East Brent.
The
MP spoke out after the council confirmed it had begun to investigate
building wind turbines on farmland it owns around the county -
just like the scheme proposed at Brent Knoll on the outskirts
of Burnham.
It
has already drawn up a shortlist of potential sites and the proposal
is due to be discussed at the council's executive meeting on July
26th.
If
given the nod, more detailed studies will get underway on deciding
the most suitable sites and formal planning applications will
be submitted.
Mr
Heathcoat-Amory criticised the plans, saying: "This is not
the way to treat climate change - wind turbines are expensive,
inefficient and intrusive."
He
added: "County farms are widely dispersed, so if this scheme
goes ahead there will be few areas of Somerset free of these giant
structures."
But
Cllr Paul Buchanan, Somerset County Council's portfolio holder
for economic development, defended the plans: "The council
must take action to reduce the effects of climate change resulting
from the burning of fossil fuels, and in order to do this we must
support the development of secure and sustainable supplies of
energy. The most common renewable energy available in Somerset
is wind energy."
"However,
alongside supporting the installation of wind turbines, the county
council is committed to ensuring that any potential adverse impacts
are minimised through careful site selection and extensive public
consultation."
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