As reported in the Whitehaven News today, Copeland Borough Council’s planning panel, acting against planning officials’ advice, have rejected an application for one 30m high wind turbine for Peterburgh Farm near the village of Beckermet. Whilst regular readers of the newspaper will be familiar with the frequent rejection of wind turbine applications by Copeland Council – whose history of rubber-stamping nuclear plans is well documented – this latest rejection stands apart from all others.
For Peterburgh Farm lies towards the northern border of the 200 acres of greenfield land that is currently being investigated by new-build developer NuGen who plan to build three nuclear reactors on the site. The pantomime element of rejecting a wind turbine on the extremities of the site is provided by the cast of individuals and local parishes that objected to the turbine plan, and their reasons for objecting. These include concerns that ‘the turbine would devastate views, affect wildlife especially local barn owls, bats and starling, devalue property and undermine the enjoyment of walkers in the area’. One local councillor went so far as to question why the beautiful area should be ruined with all these turbines ?
CORE’s spokesman Martin Forwood said today, We wait with interest to see how the villains of this pantomime – the wicked West Cumbrian Godmothers who object to an inoffensive and renewable energy source – react to a future application by NuGen to smother the area with three nuclear reactors and all the paraphernalia that goes with them. If they object to the beauty of a single turbine on this site then they must certainly reject outright the beast of nuclear new-build and its long-term damage …. Oh No they won’t !
As the Copeland Planning Panel went against the advice of their planning officials, the turbine application for Peterburgh Farm will return for a second and final decision in January next year.