Refuse turbines, says parish council
Parish councillors are calling on district planners to refuse a controversial application by green power company Enertrag UK to build a wind farm at Hempnall.
Parish councillors are calling on district planners to refuse a controversial application by green power company Enertrag UK to build a wind farm at Hempnall.
The Diss-based firm is seeking consent to site seven 125m high turbines on land at Bussey's Loke, in the south Norfolk village near Norwich, to supply renewable energy for the National Grid.
But the scheme has sparked fierce opposition from local residents who claim the development would create a huge visual impact on Hempnall and surrounding villages, and have set up campaign group Showt (Stop Hempnall's Onshore Wind Turbines).
The parish council considered the proposals at their meeting on Wednesday. The application includes an environmental impact statement comprising more than 200 pages.
Parish clerk Ian Nelson said: “The decision was to recommend refusal to the planning authority and it was unanimous. The primary concerns were visual impact, noise, flicker shadow, and not in accordance with the South Norfolk wind turbines sensitivity analysis. It is contrary to that, as the site is in a designated area of high sensitivity.”
Mr Nelson said the parish council also believed there to be inconsistencies in the application.
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The consultation period, in which people are invited to make written comment to South Norfolk Council, has been extended to June 10. This follows a request by Saxlingham Nethergate Parish Council for additional time “in view of the size of the issue, and the volume of material submitted with the planning application”.
