WHAT'S NOISE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

An interesting development in the nimbies' argument has just been passed onto us by our friends in BLoW ('Back Local Windfarms').

Apparently, one of BLoW's representatives pointed out on the Wychavon District Council website that a windfarm that is very similar indeed to the proposed Lenchwick Windfarm has just got up and running near Mansfield.

The Lindhurst Windfarm is (like Lenchwick) a development of five turbines, the same height as those proposed for Lenchwick, and about the same distance from houses. BLoW were eager to point out that another boring old nimby mob, making the same stupid nimby noises, had opposed the development. We all know the sort of thing: "We believe passionately in renewables but not here!"

The Lindhurst protesters had got two MPs on their side (sound familiar?), and those MPs submitted a petition with over 2,000 names on it to their district council. The usual garbage - too noisy, too close to people's homes, shadow flicker, blah, blah ... But the council took no notice because, as with VVASP's claims, they were all bogus and pretty silly, really.

Anyway, what BLoW tells us has now happened is that one of our local protesters has been on the Wychavon site to point out that the Lindhurst Windfarm planning application received 3,000 letters of support. This person pointed out that, okay, so VVASP have only managed 700 objections (are there 700?), but there have been comparatively few supportive comments.

So, the claim now is that, in Mansfield, the balance of public opinion seemed to be in favour of the windfarm, so it got the go ahead. Whereas, in Lenchwick, the balance of public opinion is (so VVASP would like to think) against the windfarm, so it shouldn't go ahead.

What this tells us is what we suspected all along. VVASP's whole crusade has, in reality, got nothing whatever to do with noise, shadow flicker, house prices, bats or any of the other gobbledegook. No - it's basically a popularity contest.

Having flooded the area with incessant lies for nearly two years, VVASP are now trying to claim that, as they got more (trumped up, ignorant) objections in to Wychavon than there are letters of support, the windfarm shouldn't go ahead. If there had been more letters of support than objections, then presumably it should go ahead.

All this guff about noise and house prices was just a means of scaring people into objecting. They didn't really mean any of it, because the whole point is that it's just down to how many letters of objection you can manage. Preferably, with a few on them not written by Dr No himself.

So now we know - when the protesters go on and on and on about windfarm noise and all that baloney, what they're really saying is: "It's got nothing to do with noise, it's just about influencing public opinion."

And that is what VVASP calls democracy.