CEIRIOG VALLEY ACTION
GROUP
Residents of the
Ceiriog Valley united against proposals to blight one of North Wales’ most
beautiful rural landscapes with industrial wind turbines
Release date: Wednesday
July 17th 2002
Ceiriog Valley wind turbines plan gets
just 15 letters of support
Wrexham Council floored by
1,370 wind turbine objections
WREXHAM County Borough
Council has been overwhelmed by 1,370 formal objections to the application to
build a cluster of 300ft high wind turbines in the Ceiriog Valley – more than
it has ever received for any previous planning application.
In stark contrast, the
bid by local farmer Gareth Roberts, backed by National Wind Power, to erect
three giant turbines at Cefn Coed, Glyn Ceiriog, received only 15 letters of
support.
The figures, released
yesterday by the Council, reflect that
for every person who supports the application, 91 people are ranged against it.
Faced by such a huge volume of objections, the Council has put back a decision
on the turbines by six weeks, from July 29 to September 9.
Ceiriog Valley Action
Group which is leading the residents fight to prevent the visual vandalism of
one of North Wales’ most unspoilt beauty spots, is
tremendously encouraged
by the huge weight of public protest against the turbines proposal.
CVAG had anticipated
around 700 objections – but Wrexham Council’s figures confirm almost double
that number.
Said Ceiriog Valley
Action Group Chairman Kyran Lawford: “Could anything be more emphatic? The
people who live in the Ceiriog Valley – and a very significant number who
support our local economy as tourists and visitors – have unanimously told
Wrexham Council what they think of the idea of 300ft high wind turbines
despoiling the outstanding beauty of the Valley.
“They really couldn’t
have made it any clearer. A lot of people believe in the principle of renewable
energy - but it doesn’t mean you have
to agree willy-nilly to the indiscriminate siting of giant wind turbines just
anywhere.
continued over/…
Wrexham Council
floored by
1,370 wind
turbine objections - 2
“Most people can see
that this application is a try-on by National Wind Power and that if permission
is given, it will lead to a whole rush of
turbine developments down the length of the Valley.
“To erect the biggest
wind turbines this country has ever seen, in such a beautiful, unspoilt
landscape, would be a bit like erecting a sewage works in the middle of
London’s Hyde Park. It’s totally inappropriate – so you don’t do it. This, I
believe is what 1,370 objections are saying.”
The 15 letters of
support for the turbines application, he said, “really speaks for itself. It’s
a pathetic figure, and demonstrates a real lack of any enthusiasm for the
proposal.”
Among the 1,370 letters
of objection to Wrexham’s Planning Department, were many from people living
outside the Ceiriog Valley, including tourists from Australia, the United
States and several European countries.
Added Mr.Lawford: “The
endorsement from tourists who treasure the Ceiriog Valley and who keep coming
back, gives immense support to our drive. The figures give us great
encouragement, but we still have a good deal of hard work to do if we are to
stop the Ceiriog Valley from being turned into a science fiction landscape.”
Editors: For further information, please contact CVAG Chairman Kyran Lawford on 01691-718756, Secretary Chris Futcher on 01691-718602, or Press Officer David Wilcock on 01691-718351.