Bucks Lacks Enough Wind

This quote is from a Burton Latimer resident, who wishes she had realised the effect that the turbines would have on the local environment before the Burton Wold Wind Farm was built.

“I live 1 kilometre away from the Burton Wold Wind Farm in Burton Latimer, recently opened by Your Energy. Unfortunately we did not get our act together before they were built. You may already have visited our site, but if not then please do, so you can see the impact they are having on local residents.

The problems we are having are: TV reception; shadow flicker; and also sight-seers who are using [a] once small, narrow, country road, where I live, to view the wind farm. At times we have had 60 cars an hour using the road. Do not accept what is put in the planning guidelines by [Your Energy] and push them on [whether] these problems will occur (they will) and how they will solve them.

Unfortunately none of the above was picked up by Kettering Borough Council and so they accepted at face value what they were told by Your Energy. We are now having to fight to get a resolution to these problems with Your Energy.”

Another correspondent has provided a video showing what it’s like to be in close proximity of one of the Burton Wold turbines - the children shown (with permission) give an idea of scale - and commented that when the video was filmed:

“It was a very windy day with surface speeds in the area being 20 gusting 35 knots (so approx. 10 m/s mean). Interestingly a couple of the turbines were going much slower than the rest but were audible easily 400 metres from the tower.

There was a very wide spectrum of noise including:

• General low frequency ’swooshing’ wind noise from the blades themselves.
• A medium frequency ‘gearbox like’ humming sound similar to a distant passenger jet aircraft.
• A fairly loud medium frequency noise coming from the vibrating tower itself at its base.

Although the tower is ‘only’ 100m high, standing underneath the blades gives one a sense of some unease. It would clearly be quite unsafe to stand in the vicinity should the blades have any ice formation present or the structure have any mechanical fault. Odd then that the filmed turbine is within a few metres of a public footpath!”

On 29 March 2006 the Burton Wold Wind Farm near Kettering began operation.

The picture below shows the development, viewed from 16 kilometres (10 miles) away (at Bozeat Grange, on the Northamptonshire/Milton Keynes county boundary and close to the proposed Nun Wood development). The turbines are clearly visible, even at great distance, and these are each 100 metres (325 feet) tall (25% shorter that those proposed for Nun Wood and Petsoe Manor Farm).

(Click on the picture for a full-size version.)

The next picture shows the turbines towering above the Northamptonshire town of Wellingborough - itself some distance away from the site.

(Click on the picture for a full-size version.)

Would you like 23 of these turbines surrounding Olney? If not, then please support our campaign.

Have you noticed the barrage balloon being flown just slightly east of the proposed site? It’s being flown at the same height as the top of the proposed turbines. Even though the balloon appears small, it demonstrates the maximum height of the turbine blades. The diameter of the actual turbine blades will be one and a half times the wingspan of a Jumbo Jet!

Unfortunately, civil aviation regulations limit the days on which BLEW can fly this balloon - which is somewhat ironic as, if the wind farm is built, there will be seven turbines for light aircraft to navigate within a few miles of Cranfield Airport.