The Best Guide for the Neston Area

Yet again people in high places assuming they can steam roller their ideas like this onto the public with no real acceptance for what "joe public" want... i for one am opposed to this idea and will let everyone else associated know too.. please dont let them build these monstrous things in a countryside which is free and beautiful of these turbines. This is the second time they have tried this and it was only for one of these, now they are trying to get 2???

As a Parkgate resident trying to stop the building of a dense infil estate on the Mostyn House playing field which is inside the conservation area and described on the last local plan as an important green space,we didn't get much support from the residents in Neston. I am joe public too and didn't want this. Did you support us in this endeavour CB?

val, unfortunately not... however not sure i would have anyway. the school has closed hasnt it?? Not sure of the finer detail for the proposals, however, hasnt this been shelved by the group trying to build?? Not enough information for me to make an informed decision on the Mostyn HOuse scheme, however, do you not agree that wind turbines are a blot on the landscape and are more adept at sea?? I was a resident of Parkgate in my childhood and couldnt afford to buy a house in Parkgate... Perhaps this Mostyn House scheme was/is a good idea. if it was affordable housing... probably not.
i am commenting that no matter what the public gets its what makes money. Yours and mine concerns are the same in some ways because the decision unltimately will not take into acount the public feelings but money will and no matter how strong our feelings, "joe public" do not always win.

I think both of these plans highlight how important it is for local residents to get involved in the Neighbourhood Plan in an attempt to protect our area from exploitation by those with zero regard for anything but their own commercial interests.

Regarding these two proposals, support from one part of the town for another's problem is essential because what happens to "them" could easily later happen to "you". As is clear if you attend a Neston Town Council meeting, Cheshire West and Chester Council's attitude towards our town is dismissive at best, so it is essential that we take as much control of our own destiny as we can, and that means making our Neighbourhood Plan the right thing for this area.

Check this link for the latest information on the plan:

http://nestontowncouncil.org.uk/wordpress/neighbourhood-plan/neighbourhood-plan-latest-news/

I do think it important to support one another yes. This is a lovely open space in Parkgate, part of a conservation area. The point is, this is important to us and will greatly affect this area, not just for us residents, but for tourists too. We feel we have no voice really and have not been unreasonable in our request for building in sympathy with the surrounding properties.
Anyway, too late now, the closing date for objections has passed.
As far as the wind turbines go, it will not affect me at all, and I could use the same argument with you, surely wind turbines are a necessity given the need for renewable energy, but if people who are not affected directly by the proposal to build a high density estate here can't be bothered to find out more about it, why should anybody else bother to support those people who don't like wind turbines?
I am not sure any of the bodies governing us, from the top down are willing to take our opinions into account over and above industry, developers or anything to do with business.

Oh dear gone on twice again. Just to say I did attend a Neston Town Council meeting recently and was shocked by their lack of interest in what we had to say and also to the rudeness of some of the councillors when replying to our concerns. I won't bother to attend a meeting again, it was a waste of time.

I was at the same meeting Val and I didnt think the councillors were rude. If anything it was some of the attendees. Everyone listened carefully while the complaints poured out but as soon as someone had something positive to say about the development the people against it started talking over them. From what Ive seen the town council is interested in this and other planning matters but has litle say over what gets passed by Chester and Cheshire Council.

My sentiments exactly... however, this carrying on by politicians and councillors must stop... how do we stop it????
Web pages like this are a great help, however, its important to act on it... i will, whether my voice will be heard is a differant story?
Too many schemes projects like yours in Parkgate and this one are not getting the coverage for people to make informed decisions and quite often a brown envelope stuffed full of cash will be the answer, unfortunately i dont have that...
i sincerely hope this fails.

Well Tony we will have to agree to differ. To be specific, and I did take this personally the mayor interrupted me and spoke over me whilst I was giving my viewpoint, which I had spent many hours preparing. I call that rude. They also asked questions to the public and then shouted at the public for replying !

These proposed turbines are too close to the houses on Gorston Lane and Woodfall Lane School.

I think the turbines are an excellent idea and looking at the pictures of these relatively small turbines behind the tree line then how are they "too close" to the houses ? Not only is this a money spinner for Liverpool University on their Leahurst campus, but also further green energy the country greatly needs.

I for one support these whole heartedly in our local area... everyone has to do their bit for the environment.

so whoever -- is lets erect one of these ugly intrusions 400 yards from your property?? see what you reckon to that...

wind turbines can not only cause deprciation of property prices of up to 50%, the impact on people due to the noise they produce, they also cause damage to people, ecology and landscape...

This scheme was addressed almost to the year in 2012 and it was rejected then.

i think you should think a little more b4 commenting and get to know the facts.
"Green energy" yes, for a green environment but not when it affects our own personal environment.

American research has shown that Turbines this size should ideally be 2km from the nearest house. They don't cause much noise if properly maintained but they do cause vibrations that travel up to 2 km through the ground. American research has shown a statistically significant increase in arythmia (spelling!) and insomnia in the zone round a turbine this size and also hyperactivity in children. There is a bill that as had its first reading in parliament that will make the distance from the nearest house a minimum of 2Km. Once two are erected it sets a precident. Do we really windfarms in our green belt? These will also be in the flight paths of migrating geese.

So CB just because I disagree with your viewpoint I get an acidic response ! If someone was erecting a couple of these size wind turbines 400 yards from my property I would have no issue whatsoever - I can see the bigger picture.

Regarding the proximity to a school - I am sure there is no health issue or these would never be given permission, however I expect if you asked your average child, they would say they like these as they are fascinating devices - kids see the world in a totally different way.

As for the other article about these being in the flight path of migrating geese - please take a look on the internet for the research on this - firstly these are very small in comparison to the large wind farms offshore so the geese would be flying far higher in the first place and research has shown that geese (and other migrating birds) avoid wind farms - after all I am sure there are a lot of hazards to a migrating bird that they learn to avoid.

Also this is being mis-quoted as a "wind farm". Its a couple of relatively small twin blade turbines which are increasingly common around the UK. I have family who work for repower and install/maintain "wind farms" on and off shore in the UK - they are on a completely different scale entirely and of no comparison to these turbines.

As for statistics & research quoted here - there is a huge amount of research out there also about the risks to the UK of power shortages in the coming decade, risks of the shale gas "fracking" we are having to look at as a country to meet our demand for energy (and note there is a gas power station just across the dee).

There is an abundance of data, research and on the internet about the increasing costs, fuel shortages and pollution caused by traditional fossil fuel power stations which paves the way for environmentally friendly power generation.

If we look at Nuclear - there are proposals being put forward for new nuclear reactors to be situated at the Magnox site in Anglesey (Wylfa) again to meet our ever growing thirst for energy. Again the internet provides some excellent research on the nightmare situation we have now storing waste at Sellafield and the billions this will cost the UK in the coming decades.... and that's before we look at the 2 big disasters we have seen in my lifetime.

OK so these 2 turbines are hardly going to save the world.. but they would be 2 more in a growing number of such sites all contributing a little bit to the UK power needs.

Where we can, we need to look to harness power in natural ways from Wind, Tide and Solar so I will always support such a venture even if it was "in my back yard". As much as people have a right to object, others have a right to support it.

BBC news site today reports "Ofgem warns danger of power shortages has increased - Ofgem said the UK's energy sector faces "unprecedented challenges"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23081695

Sorry your name is hidden.
I am a supporter of natural alternative energy but wonder why are the Americans now insisting wind turbines this size be equivalent to 2km from the nearest house (they still measure in miles etc.) ?

so - - you feel my views are acidic?? i feel quite strongly about the fact that Leahurst can apply for this with no regard for our-(joe public) concerns. they already had one proposal rejected.

You did not answer all of my points..

in response to your point that 2 wind turbines dont make a farm then i feel if we allow these especially on green belt then it will be a matter of time until more are allowed... perhaps you may get your wish of them 400yards from your house. perhaps your children will enjoy looking at them too once the insomnia has affected their sleep patterns which is proof due to the noise..

Cathy 21 is correct in her opinion and its not only Canadian geese that will be affected but other ecologies/animals aswell. During construction earth is removed which is replaced by carbon emitting concrete. More concrete is used to form roads/access to allow heavy machinery such as cranes and diggers across landscaped areas that have never been disturbed.
These wind turbines also have to have back up power as they have to be permanently backed up. This is often required so when the wind drops... thus more carbon emissions? not to mention the noise this would generate also.
Developers frequently exaggerate the potential of wind power. The entire fleet of wind turbines of the UK is equivalent to the output of 1Nr medium sized coal fired power station. It would take 4000 of the largest wind turbine to produce the output of just one nuclear power station...
-- do you work at Leahurst?? perhaps you are the CEO and are going to enjoy the large subsidies offered by the government for such schemes....

I would guess Cathy that America has the luxury of space - their country is vastly larger than the UK therefore they can afford to allow greater tolerances of space.

I'm not suggesting all concerns are invalid - far from it - everyone is entitled to their opinion and there is research to support either side of the argument - its just I feel these really are small scale and the benefits outweigh the downside.

Also the aesthetics argument is subjective - some people see these as a blot on the landscape while others like myself feel they are actually quite impressive and compliment a 21st century landscape - again no-one is right - just personal viewpoint.

One thing I do know for certain - the power issue facing the UK is very real and the challenges facing the NDA over storage of nuclear waste are massive so whenever a private venture / company such as this wants to invest in green technology (admittedly with the help of the subsidies available) then it should be encouraged. Just my humble opinion & nothing more.

Access to build these turbines is proposed down Mill lane, a one track road with passing places, and then across a field and across the top of Woodfall lane where it is only a single track and an ancient bridal way.

The turbines will be very close to an ancient hedge that is a nesting place for birds and a flight path for bats (protected).

Migrating geese avoid offshore wind farms, says study:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19208400

Once again we have a repeat of last year
Thank you Louise Gittins and Cathy for making me aware of this
As I said last time what about electronic interference generated which would wipe out Freeview
Secondly the cable from the turbine site will cross an existing 33KV buried cable running parallel with the A540 from Heswall boundary in the Two Mills direction on the WNW side of the road
From my past qualified experience in this, the 2 cables will generate severe interference and interaction, there could even be an explosion on the High road, it seems road safety and peoples property go out of the window

I do not feel we need to worry about explosions under the A540 from these cables. Our cities have large networks of such cables buried under the streets without problems. The 30Kv cables are small beer compared to the 500Kv cables soon to be installed on the verge of the dual carriageway section to just beyond Gordale. Of far greater concern is that the new proposal for the turbines seeks to install one of the turbines lower down the field than the proposal last year, whilst INCREASING the height of the tower by nearly TEN METRES to just under 40 metres.This project is not welcomed by many local residents and is of no benefit to them and should be rejected by the council in line with quidelines updated by the goverment in the last couple of weeks.

These turbines are only 360m from Gorston lane.

Reply to hidden name:- in several papers a few days ago was the story of keen birdwatchers who went to see a very rare bird and saw it fly into a wind turbine.

Has anyone been to the library? We went this morning and noticed some things we need to ask about so will go to the meeting on Friday night.

Cathy please publish details of the meeting that you refer to .Thanks.

Personally I'm all for "green" forms of energy and have no issues with wind turbines or wind farms - but in their rightful place, which is out at sea. NOT right in the middle of the countryside.
Is there a petition against this? Where do I sign?

I get the impression that 'Blankety Blank' has a hidden agenda. Is he/she from Leahurst or associated bodies? Just a feeling.

No association to Leahurst or any related industry whatsoever, and no hidden agenda. I didn't think the AMA article was worded as an appeal against these turbines just general information about the plans and an open discussion about them. While many people can freely post their objection to them it seems anyone who supports them "must have an agenda".

I genuinely can see these turbines have issues to overcome, but there are many positives for them too. Subsidies are available so why shouldn't local businesses cash in on these subsidies as a way of saving/generating money in the current economic climate.

I also agree with Derek that the best place for "wind farms" is out at sea - I know about these farms very well from a family member who works for a wind farm company installing them and they are on an entirely different scale. The average offshore turbine head is the size of a house. What we have here isn't a "wind farm", its on a much much much smaller scale and is a couple of small wind turbines situated (I assume) on land that Leahurst owns ?

My reason for supporting these is simple - the UK is facing a power shortage (well documented on the BBC and other news sites recently) and while these 2 turbines are not going to change the world, they would still be 2 more electricity generation devices harnessing natural sources to add a little something to the grid. If these 2 get the go-ahead and others like it around the UK then it will make a difference and is another green energy source.

No ulterior motive - I just support green power and think we should support it in our local community.

Regarding the birds flying into them - Again I am sure that does happen but I have seen countless birds on the side of the road and been unfortunate enough to have one hit my car windscreen a few weeks ago. Should we ban cars too ? Its a case of balancing the argument - green power like this will have its disadvantages but if it reduces our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear then it has to be a good thing surely ?

I'm all for green power but wonder why Denmark is now saying no more on land because of increased ill health in their vicinity. I was told that but haven't found where to check that.
I know about research in the USA showing health problems near wind turbines and the need to build them at least a mile, ideally 2 from the nearest dwelling. So I'm worried about these only 320m from Gorston Lane. I am a bit further away but still concerned.