Landowner answers critics over turbines, Teesdale Mercury

A LANDOWNER has spoken out in defence at his decision to allow wind turbines on his land.

Banks Developments and Arcus Renewable Energy want to erect up to 13 huge wind turbines on land between the village of Woodland and Hamsterley Forest.

The Arcus proposal is being drawn up, but Banks Development have already erected a 60m wind monitoring mast at the site to find out information such as wind speed.

Opinions are divided in Woodland and a protest group, called Hamsterley and Upper Gaunless Action Group, has been set up.

But Anthony Coatsworth, the owner of Linburn Hall, has now explained why he wants the turbines on his land. 

Mr Coatsworth believes people need to “embrace these changes”, adding that there was a similar uproar when electricity pylons were erected in the UK.

He said: “We will run out of our natural resources and then how will people manage without their TV or boiling their kettle? Get them to try a  paraffin lamp for a month.”

There are concerns that the turbines will destroy wildlife. But the landowner replied: “The protestors have expressed concern for the birds, but what about the electric wires?

“I don’t think there is an excessive amount of wildlife around here to be affected. The birds will re-adjust if they have to, they always do.”

Mr Coatsworth also suggested that fears about the impact on tourism were unfounded.

He said: “The road leading down past this area is hardly ever used apart by locals.

“I think it will bring more tourists, the turbines will be an attraction as they are in Tow Law.

“As my father always says, he would rather leave the wind farms to his grandchildren than the alternative of nuclear power stations.”

It has been claimed that renewable energy firms in the region are paying about £1,000 a month for each turbine on people’s land.

However, Mr Coatsworth declined to comment on this matter.

Anti-wind farm protestors were given a boost last month after Npower scrapped its proposals to build a wind farm in nearby Bolam.

Residents of the village said the wind farm battle isn’t over and have pledged to give their support to 

protestors around the Hamsterley area.

However, some villagers have expressed their support for the scheme.

 One woman, who did not want to be named, said: “I have no problem with these wind turbines – I would have one in my back garden if I could.”

Another farmer, who also declined to give her name, said she had seen other big developments in the area before.

She said: “We had the open cast mining here 20 years ago, there will always be change and we just have to embrace it.”

But Ray Wilkinson, who lives a few hundred yards for the proposed site, disagreed.

Mr Wilkinson, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, said: “These turbines will be 120 to 125 metres high and that will create a lot of noise.

“We moved here for the peace 

and tranquillity and the stress this 

is causing is not good for my condition.”

Mr Wilkinson said he and his wife may be forced to move if the plan gets the go-ahead. 

He added: “Put the wind farms into the sea, the fish won’t jump into the windmills like the birds possibly could.

“We use cable and wireless to communicate between countries, and they are all under the sea.

“We are on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and we have Hamsterley Forest at the other side of the proposed site.”

Fellow protestor John Kirton, who lives nearby, added:  “Turbines are massively ugly, intrusive, noisy and wickedly inefficient to our great expense.

“Even thousands of them will make not a jot of difference to the world’s temperatures but will threaten the health and blight the lives of those living close to them.  

“The politics of vote winning that introduced these baseless targets will force us to watch developers destroy our beautiful and tranquil landscapes, devastate irreplaceable views, and pour tonnes of concrete onto the sites of rare wildlife.

“This madness, that local lethargy would encourage, will ride roughshod over treasures that many of us will fight to retain.”