Hambledon Parade 2007/2009

Another before and after pair of photos, this time Hambledon Parade:


Hedgerow and fields in 2007


Fence and building site in 2009

East Meon anti-wind turbine mis-information campaign

I seem to have missed completely the attempt by Volkswind to propose the installation of two wind turbines over at East Meon, north of the Sustainability Centre near Clanfield.

A local campaign group of Nimby's, Ramblers and other so called conservation groups opposed the two turbines and as a result Volkswind withdrew the application. The local Nimbys calling themselves 'Say No to East Meon Wind Farm' claim they actually support wind energy, which is hard to believe given that they describe the project as 'industrial'.

Exactly what turbines do they recommend then? Wooden turbines hand crafted by local carpenters maybe?

Their web site contains the usual misinformation about wind turbines. Allegedly they claim new 'pylons' carrying 'hundreds' of transmission lines would be installed to carry the electricity away from the turbines. Now I actually have a degree in engineering and in any transmission system I know of, never have I seen one that requires hundreds of cables!

It sounds to me like a load of emotional scaremongering.

And the web site shows the height of the turbine to the blade tip rather than the nacelle assembly, so then they can quote a bigger figure for the turbine height, to scare people.

Quote from the SEMWF site:

What we will be left with is an uncomfortable juxtaposition of ancient rural landscape little changed since medieval times, with a vista of brash 21st century towers, turbines and revolving blades.

So what we have here is a bunch of luddites that apparently would have campaigned against windmills hundreds of years ago, designed to provide flour, because they would have been a 'brash of towers with revolving blades'.

I would like to know how these Nimby's get about? I'm guessing that out in East Meon, one is dependent on cars. So I guess they don't mind the building of motorways in someone else's back yard so that they can drive their cars to the nearest Tesco's.

Mercury Wind Farm web site

UPDATE: Volkswind have replied to an email i sent them and they stated that the main reason for not going ahead with the project was due to the National Park status of the area and associated government policy weakening their chances of approval.