ILL WIND will be flying a Blimp from 11am to 7pm from a field in South Marston on Monday 13th September.

A viewing area 600m from the Blimp will be erected on the South Marston Recreation ground.

ILL WIND has found that many people do not have a clear understanding of the overall impact, visual and otherwise, of the proposed turbines. As a group, we have sought to give the public information relating to the effects of wind turbines situated close to residential areas and have done this through public meetings, leaflet drops and our website (www.illwind.co.uk ).

We now aim to illustrate the visual impact by flying a blimp to the same height as the proposed turbines.

We hope that by demonstrating the scale of the turbines, this will prompt people to investigate for themselves fully the issues of noise, flicker and associated health problems. Only when they have considered both sides can an informed decision be made on whether to object to or agree to Honda’s application.

Where is the blimp being flown from?

• We had hoped that we could fly the blimp from the exact site of turbine No3 (the turbine nearest to Greenfields). However Honda would only allow us to fly it at the height of the central hub and not to the full height of the blades.
• We have very kindly been given permission to fly the blimp from a site as close as possible to the actual site at the back of Thornhill Road in South Marston. We are erecting a viewing point in the Recreation Ground, 600 metres from the Blimp. The turbines are planned to be 600 metres from the nearest homes and this viewing point will allow people to gauge for themselves the relative impact on their homes.

Why not fly it from the hub height?

• This would simply not be a fair way of demonstrating to the public the actual size of the turbines. If this application is approved, the public will see the full motion of the rotating blades which cover an area of 5,200sqm to a height of 120m – which is the height of the turbine as designated in the planning application.
• It is also worth remembering that we are only flying ONE blimp – there will be THREE turbines!

Some interesting facts about the proposed turbines:

• The Turbines are 37m higher than the David Murray John building.
• The area covered by the rotating blades is ¾ of the size of Wembley’s football pitch.
• The Honda Turbines will be 40m, or two cricket pitches, higher than the Watchfield turbines.
• In Scotland and some areas within England, wind turbines of this size must be positioned a minimum of 2km from residential property. The South Marston ones are 600m.
• A Private Members’ Bill has been proposed recommending a similar 2km exclusion zone for England.
• Wind Energy has been well established in Denmark for more than 20 years, the Danish Government has decided to ban any further land based wind turbines

Who is ILL WIND?

• We are not against renewable energy and are very keen proponents of wind, solar, wave and tidal power.
• We care very much about our environment.
• We are a group of ordinary people who live in South Marston and Stratton.
• We want to ensure that all local residents have sufficient information to ensure that they can make up their own minds about whether to support or object to the proposed wind turbines at Honda.
• We felt that the public consultation meetings held by Honda and Ecotricity were one sided and misleading. Very few people were aware the meetings were taking place and consequently were poorly attended. Honda and Ecotricity could have made significantly more effort to communicate with all residents who will be affected by their application.

Interviews will be possible either on the 13th from 11am to 7pm at the viewing site in South Marston or can be coordinated through Amanda Burchell on 01793 827009 or by email: Amanda@aquileia.co.uk

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On Monday September 13th from 11am to 7pm, ILL WIND will be flying a blimp in South Marston. The blimp will be flown at the actual height of the top of the turbine blades so that all East Swindon residents can see for themselves what the visual impact will be.

As an integral part of the planning process, and also someone who no doubt cares passionately about Swindon and its residents, we hope you would also benefit from being able to see for yourself the actual height of the turbines and place them within the perspective of our villages and the surrounding area.

When and where?

• September 13th 2010 with viewing area and information at South Marston Recreation Ground from 11am to 6pm. Access via Old Vicarage Lane (Next to the school).

So why are we doing this?

• In relation to Planning Application S/10/1073, erection of 3 x 120m wind turbines.
• We have grave concerns about this application, most notably the visual impact and overall lack of consistency with the surrounding rural area, along with various nuisance and health issues which are compounded by the proximity to residential dwellings.
• It is clear that many people in the area are not fully aware of the size of the turbines, this is an opportunity to remedy that as much as possible.
• In Scotland and in other parts of England wind turbines of this size must be at least 2km from the nearest property. A bill is currently going through Parliament to make this distance mandatory. The Honda turbines will be 600 metres away.
• To allow officials to place the proposal within the context of the village and surrounding area.

Please come along and see for yourself the visual impact these turbines will have on the villages; we are certain that a great many people’s future quality of life may very well depend upon it.

THANK YOU!

ILL WIND – working for concerned South Marston and Stratton Residents

www.ILLWIND.co.uk

A) On any day other than a Sunday

B) At the full height of 120m. They feel the blimp should be flown at 79m which is the hub height.

Both these conditions mean that we have had to make alternative arrangements because, firstly, the earliest we could get permission to fly the blimp from the CAA made it the 6th which is very close to when the planning committee may stop accepting letters, and to push that date back further would not be in the interests of the village; and secondly, to fly the blimp at hub height would not be an accurate representation of how visible the turbines will be. The blades when rotating constitute an area of 5200sqm (The hub, by contrast is a static object   in diameter) and the height from floor to blade tip will be 120m. As such we are resolute in our belief that the blimp should be flown at this height: Anything else just wouldn’t be a true reflection of how visible they will be and as a result, residents will not have all the information they need to place the turbines and their effects in the perspective of their own homes.

It never rains but it pours.

We have had to make some difficult decisions about this and agreed that we would fly the blimp from an alternative location, ensuring we are as close to the proposed site as possible. Unfortunately to do this, the CAA insisted we re-apply for permission to fly the blimp as the co-ordinates were different. This meant that we had no choice but to fly the blimp at a later date.

We are awaiting confirmation of the CAA approval, and the blimp hire company’s availability.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

We had an excellent turnout at our meeting last night with some new, very welcome, faces! Amongst the topics discussed was the most pressing one where we were trying to finalise the details of flying the blimp from the site of turbine No3. Details coming soon.

We have managed to obtain funding to have a “Blimp” for a day in order to give the entire area a real idea of how visible the eventual turbines will be. It will be flown at a height of 120m, the tip height of the turbines. Honda, at a recent site visit they facilitated, very kindly agreed to let us fly the “Blimp” from the same location as Turbine No3 (The one closest to Greenfields). This will, in all likelyhood, gain media attention and CAA approval has been given for 6th September. We are currently awaiting Honda’s approval of this date.
We shall be circulating information to those who signed the petition.

Finally it has been mentioned that more people would like to come to our meetings/ discussions. Please feel free to come along – The more people involved, the greater our chance of success!!