STOP Clyde Valley Wind Farm
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******WINDFARM PROPOSAL REJECTED******

BIG Thanks to all who supported our community effort.  Yes we DO count and DO have a voice! Please note the website is going to be under maintenance for the next few days.  When this is complete we will update our content, including the BRILLIANT firework's night, where we had over 200 supporters, young and old in attendance.  

The salient position we find ourselves on stems from the fact that  E4A  provided us with the glue which has helped bond many new friends, from all the affected areas and beyond together.  We fully intend to  put this to good use in helping our communities in the future.

 
 
 
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Read the full report here ->  ASA Adjudication on Energy4All Ltd  

ASA RULE THAT “COMMUNITY” WINDFARM DEVELOPER MISLEAD COMMUNITY
 

The Advertising Standards Authority have ruled that self-proclaimed “Community” windfarm developer Energy4All mislead the community by misquoting the minimum distance required between housing and wind turbines stipulated for safety reasons.

Cumbrian windfarm developer, Energy4All who have received funding from the Scottish Government, claimed in an advert that their plan to build 2 No 125m high wind turbines adjacent a village was acceptable because the local Council’s guidance stated that turbines could be built only 500m from dwellings.

In fact, the minimum distance stipulated in South Lanarkshire Council guidance is 600m - NOT 500m as the developer wrongly claimed. Significantly, the proposed windfarm site at Cartland Muir, near Lanark is only 500m from the village of Kilncadzow which perhaps explains the developer’s decision to misquote the distance in the Council document.
The site at Cartland Muir is extremely controversial attracting hundreds of objections from local residents who fiercely oppose the plans and have formed an action group, Stop Clyde Valley Wind Farm.  Local residents consider the 410ft high turbines to be Too Big, Too Close and Too Noisy and in accordance with Scottish Planning Policy, consider that turbines should be at least 2km from housing to reduce their visual impact and avoid potential health risks associated with wind turbines noise pollution, vibration and shadow flicker.
 
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GOVERNMENT BACKING
Energy4All have received Government Funding through Scottish Enterprise for feasibility studies and are a Framework contractor for subsidiary organisation Co-operative Development Scotland which aims to promote the development of co-operative enterprises.  It is for the Scottish Government to decide if they should continue such investment.
 
 
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Other revelations on Cartland Muir Windfarm Proposal:

BAA OBJECT TO CARTLAND MUIR ON SAFETY GROUNDS

The British Airports Authority have lodged a formal objection to the Cartland Muir proposal as the 125m high turbines would interfere with air traffic control radar “thus posing a very real threat to aircraft safety”. The site at Cartland Muir conflicts with safeguarding criteria and the 125m high turbines would be visible from Glasgow radar and Lowther Hill radar and would create “unacceptable clutter on radar screens”.
 
 
 

“COMMUNITY” WINDFARM SITE OWNED BY ABSENTEE LONDON LANDLORD

Energy4All’s insistence that Cartland Muir is a “Community” project were rubbished when local villagers obtained title deeds for the site which revealed that the owner of the site – set for a £1.5m windfall is a Mr Selwyn Isaac Midgen, a property developer with Directorships in over 20 companies based in Highgate, London who purchased the site in 2003 for only £53,000.

Local couple, Lawrence and Carol Lovell retired to the village of Kilncadzow and their house is only 500m from the proposed windfarm site.  Carol said, “We retired here for the beautiful unspoilt countryside with views onto a designated Special Landscape Area – The Clyde Valley.  This proposal seems to be more about the greed of the ruthless developer and London landowner than about renewable energy.  The turbines are simply too big, too close and we are worried that they will be too noisy and could drive us from our home.”
 

SNH AGREE TURBINES ARE TOO BIG AND TOO CLOSE

Scottish Natural Heritage advised that the development would give rise to locally significant adverse impacts on visual amenity and “by virtue of the height of the turbines proposed, the development cannot be considered as small”.  They added “short comings in the presentation of the visualisations may under-represent the visibility of the proposal in the information provided”. 

TOO BIG, TOO CLOSE - SNH stated that they consider that the turbines “would need to be significantly shorter given the close proximity of settlements”
 
 

CARTLAND MUIR “LIES ON A ZONE OF POTENTIAL MINERAL INSTABILITY” (A MINE)

The proposed windfarm site at Cartland Muir has extensive mine workings and according to the developer’s OWN Mining Consultant lies on a “Zone of Potential Mineral Instability”.  The report by DLM Mining Consultants can be viewed by clicking the DLMR report tab below. The map shows the  location of the proposed site within the instable zone  .  Local residents are worried that the proposed 125m high turbines which will have 90m rotor diameter will result in vibration that could cause structural damage to homes and health issues.
 
 
 

ENERGY4ALL CO-OPERATIVE SUED AT HIGH COURT FOR NOISE POLLUTION

In a landmark case, another Co-operative “supported” by Energy4All, Fenland Green Power Co-operative are named as one of 5 parties being sued by Jane and Julian Davis for “deafening” noise pollution which they claim has driven them out of their Lincolnshire home.  The windfarm site is 930m from their farm whilst the Cartland Muir site is 500m from Kilncadzow Village.


 

The proposed location of the proposed wind turbines is TOO CLOSE to people’s homes. The site is barely 500m from the village of Kilncadzow, 1km from Cartland,and around 2-3km from Lanark, Carluke and Braidwood.  The development would be contrary to the guidelines stipulated in the ‘Scottish Planning Policy’ document (2010) paragraph 190 which states as follows:

"a separation distance of up to 2km between areas of search and the edge of cities, towns and villages is recommended to guide developments to the most appropriate sites and to reduce visual impact".

The proposed separation distance of circa 500m is therefore inappropriate and will have an unacceptable overwhelming and lasting visual impact.
 
                                                                                                                   10km Zone worst affected area by 400 feet turbines
          
 
                                                                                                         Energy4All Zone of theoretical visibility to 85m hub
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Height including blades will be 125m tall (that is 400ft – 100ft taller than the Statue of Liberty).The turbines will be prominently visible from much of Lanarkshire – their own assessment shows that they may be visible from as far away as Glasgow.  They will visually defile a designated ‘Area of Great Landscape Value’ enjoyed by thousands of tourists and locals alike – THE CLYDE VALLEY.  At 125m each, these wind turbines would be the largest in the area, 15m higher than those at Black Law. It is akin to building a wind farm on the edge of a national park with the associated negative impact on wildlife and nature.
 
 
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The turbines will create noise pollution.  Energy4All have provided a plan claiming that local villages are right on the maximum limits of noise pollution permitted under Government Legislation. A little too close for comfort, and we only have their word for it!  Oh dear.

Why not ask Energy4All about the case of Jane Davis who lived 930m from wind turbines at the Fenland Green Power Co-operative site in Lincolnshire?  She no longer lives there due to the “deafening” noise she reports as coming from wind turbines on the site. Energy4All’s brochure states that they “supported” the co-operative board in purchasing two turbines on the site in December 2008. 
 
 
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Energy4All and “Community” Wind farms

Energy4All falsely claim this is a “Community” Project. It is not. The landowner is a London investor, set for a minimum £1M payout if the scheme gets the go ahead. This is a “get rich quick scheme” for a greedy developer with an appetite for government subsidies and an absentee landowner. There are more appropriate sites for power generation - it just so happens that they won’t make as much money.

Energy4All claim that they “seek to promote Co-operative Values and Principles which include Honesty and Openness and Concern for the Community”.

At an “Open” Day, held belatedly at Kilncadzow Village Hall, Energy4All’s spokesman, Paul Phare was asked how electricity would be delivered from the wind turbines to the National Grid.  “It will go through wires” was his response.  When pressed on whether pylons would also blight the landscape, Mr. Phare repeated that “The electricity will go through wires”.  Thanks – very open and honest.
 

Local People (the Real Community)

Lawrence and Carol Lovell retired to Craigenhall Road, Kilncadzow, Carluke, having worked hard all their lives. Their house is only 500m from the proposed wind farm at Cartland Muir. They, and many others, fear the visual impact and health implications of living so close to the wind farm, particularly noise pollution which is known to be more noticeable at night time, and can lead to sleep deprivation.  Energy4All have been informed of this Concern by the Community but are pressing on regardless.
 
 

Can We Stop This?

Energy4All have a track record in selecting inappropriate sites. One community who successfully stood up to their tactics to build within 750m of their homes was Gartree in Leicestershire who defeated them www.stopgartreewindfarm.co.uk. 

The developers have a huge PR machine spinning a myth that this is a Community Scheme. It is anything but. Their Planning Application is proposed for end May 2011. The Stop Clyde Valley Wind Farm group aims to inform the real community of the truths surrounding this inappropriate development in order that they can make an informed choice regarding letters of objection to South Lanarkshire Council, once the Planning Application is made.


 
                                                                                        Community  meeting to discuss various concerns in Kilncadzow village hall