Ulley wind farm would be 'a risk to health' - claim

Jane and Julian Davis say their lives have been “turned upside down” by noise from eight 120-foot turbines 950 metres from their home.

They say they had to move out of their 150-acre farm near Deeping St Nicholas, Lincolnshire, in 2007 and move into rented accommodation five miles away after “WHOOSHING” noises left them getting only three or four hours sleep a night.

The couple, who are part way through a High Court action against the wind farm’s developers and the owners of the land it stands on, are supporting the Penny Hill Wind Farm Action Group which is battling plans for six 130-metre high turbines planned for a stretch of green belt land off Penny Hill Lane, Ulley

Jane Davis said: “I believe that there is a significant risk that the people of Ulley will experience problems similar to those that we have experienced. I don’t want anyone else to suffer like that.”

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Jane said that a series of low frequency noises and thuds that reverberated through her home have been the subject of extensive investigation over the past seven months.

She added: “The developers might tell residents in Ulley that the noise of the turbines will be drowned out by the nearby motorway but that is not necessarily the case.

“

Me and my husband have been accused of being light sleepers throughout our battle to raise awareness of these problems and—this might sound sad—we have gone to the extent of sleeping near motorways around the country to prove otherwise.

“The noises that turbines can create are loud. They turned our lives upside down.”

The wind farm proposed by Banks Developments will be around half as far from the closest house in Ulley as the wind farm in Deeping St. Nicholas is to Julie’s former home if it is given the green light by planners.

Julie claims that she is not against wind farms but insists that more research needs to be done into their effects on the health of people living nearby before the green light is given to any more.

She added: “Around one-in-five wind farms create the problems that we have experienced but no research has been done to understand or remedy any of the issues.

“There is no onus on developers to research the possible effects of turbines on a community and that is wrong.

“Despite the concerns of thousands of people, new wind farms are constantly being proposed and developed without any research into their effects.

“Residents living nearby are being deprived of sleep, the value of their homes has plummeted and their health is suffering but there is no legislation in place to help them.

Where’s the justice in that.”

Banks Developments boss Phil Dyke has insisted that “comprehensive assessments” have been carried out to determine any possible environmental impacts of its Penny Hill Wind farm scheme and the results appear in the planning application handed to Rotherham Borough Council.

The managing director of the Chesterfield-based firm added: “There is absolutely no evidence anywhere to support claims that wind turbines have any adverse effects at all on the health of people in surrounding communities, that wind farm construction traffic damages properties alongside the roads they use in any way or that the planning application lacks detail in any way at all, and it is very disappointing these and other such inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims are being raised as part of arguments against this proposal.”

This week campaigners from the Penny Hill Wind Farm Action Group revealed plans to gather ahead of a proposed site visit by Rotherham Borough Council planning officials.

The group will meet in the car park of the Royal Oak pub, in Ulley, at 9.30am on May 26.