Storm brews over East Stoke wind turbines (From Dorset Echo)

Storm brews over East Stoke wind turbines

1:00pm Monday 2nd February 2009 in

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A PLANNING application for a controversial wind turbine scheme at East Stoke, near Wareham is expected to be submitted to planners at Purbeck’s council towards the end of February.

In mid-December a six- turbine scheme was formally withdrawn for the Alaska Wind Farm project.

That move had been announced earlier and in November an exhibition on a revised scheme was given a public airing at an exhibition at a Stoborough hotel.

Principal planning officer Alan Davies, of Purbeck District Council, said the revised application for four wind turbines was expected between the end of February and early March.

He said: “If this is the case, upon the receipt of the application, notification letters and emails will be sent out as previously, seeking comment.”

The site at Master’s Pit off the Puddletown Road between Wareham and Bere Regis is a spot, which bears the marks of a long history of minerals extraction.

East Stoke resident Barbara Rose said she was ‘most definitely’ opposed to the scheme and had collected thousands of signatures in petitions against it.

She said: “They’re inefficient and will be an eyesore.

“If they were efficient we would have to hold our hands up and say ‘fine, we’ve got to have them’, but they’re not.

“Plus the birds and bats will be disturbed and they may be a dangerous distraction to drivers on Puddletown Road.”

She added: “I’ve lived here 25 years and I appreciate the countryside around.

“I think a lot of people, if they do ever go up, will say ‘I didn’t realise they would be that big.’”

President of Dorset CPRE Terry Stewart said 410ft turbines would be a ‘massive visual blot’ on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

He added: “We’ve also got very strong concerns about the noise impact. In this case the proposed site is 400 to 500 metres from residential houses.

“There have been many occasions around the country where people have been badly affected by the noise of wind turbines.”