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Wednesday 26 February 2014

Turbine visible from Birmingham

From derbytelegraph.co.uk
One of the wind turbines in Spondon

From the Derby Telegraph

A GROUP of villagers say they will fight a forthcoming planning application to erect a 252ft wind turbine which they believe could be seen from Birmingham.

Residents in Cubley are in talks to form a group called Cubley Against Wind Turbines (CAWT) to raise awareness of a planning application due to be submitted to Derbyshire Dales District Council next month.


They have my sympathy. We visited a favourite Derbyshire viewpoint today only to find it spoiled by a bunch of enormous wind turbines built after the Planning Inspectorate overruled the local councillors.

These things can be visually dominating, they radiate an unmissable message that we ordinary people don't matter, our landscapes don't matter, our lives don't matter because when it comes down to it we don't count for much.

A number of wind turbines have gone up across Derbyshire in recent years. Most prominent are two 130-metre structures in Spondon, which are six times taller than the Angel of the North.

3 comments:

Weekend Yachtsman said...

They're not really wind-farms, they are subsidy-farms: that is the only reason they are there.

Interestingly, the original meaning of the word "farm" was permission to levy taxes on behalf of the King, forwarding most of the proceeds to the King and keeping a certain amount yourself, both for expenses and to keep the more senior vassals sweet.

Pretty much exactly what wind farms and wind farmers do today.

Plus ca change...

Demetrius said...

Spondon was just before Derby and you knew to watch out for Derby Works.

A K Haart said...

WY - interesting I didn't know that. If we'd retained the original meaning, what would sewage farms be?

Demetrius - and you knew you were approaching Spondon by the smell.