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We don't want an ugly turbine
NEIGHBOURS have slammed plans to erect a first wind turbine at a school in Blackpool.
The proposals are for a 60ft structure in the grounds of Holy Family RC Primary School in North Shore.
But residents around the Seacrest Avenue site fear the windmill will become a blot on the landscape and disturb the tranquillity with noises.
Phil Griffiths, 89, who lives in the house closest to the proposed site on Leckhampton Road, said: "We went to a meeting about it at the school to see if we could get some answers but the man who spoke was more like a salesman than a planning person.
"He told us it was a good thing, but I said 'it might be for you but you don't have to live under it'.
"When I open my curtains in the morning it'll be there. I'll go downstairs and look out of the window and see it again, then I'll go into the kitchen to make breakfast and there it will be.
"When I go outside to sit quietly in the garden – one of the few pleasures I have since my wife died two years ago – it'll be towering over me."
School bosses say the turbine would cost 32,000, with 26,000 coming from external grants if passed by planners. The cost to Blackpool Council would be 6,000 and the move is expected to reduce energy bills by 2,500 a year.
They also claim the turbine will be quiet as it does not have a gear box, which is the cause of most noise associated with turbine towers.
But Richard Green, of Geldof Drive, added: "How do you know how noisy it's going to be until it's up there?
"This feels like the school is doing it just to tick some Government box.
"I'm all for environmental projects, but for the amount of savings this is making it feels like a lot of people will suffer."
But the school said the turbine would have an educational benefit as well as a financial one.
Headteacher Helen Moreton added: "We're very excited about the possibility of being the first school in Blackpool to have a wind turbine in the school grounds.
"Children learn about energy conservation as part of the curriculum and having a turbine will be a fantastic teaching resource. They will also be able to see our school's carbon footprint being reduced by seven per cent.
"We're also hoping to reduce fuel bills by 20 per cent by using clean, green electricity."
A Blackpool Council spokesman said: "We understand residents may feel concern when they hear of a proposed wind turbine. But we would hope the information distributed locally, along with an opportunity to ask questions at a public meeting, will have helped alleviate fears."
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Weather for Blackpool
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: West
