WE'D RATHER HAVE WIND FARMS THAN ANOTHER NUCLEAR POWER STATION

09:30 - 17 August 2004

Anti-nuclear campaigners yesterday urged people to support plans for a wind farm in the West Somerset countryside. Opinion is sharply divided on the proposal for 12 turbines, 110 metres high, at West Hinkley, not far from Hinkley Point atomic power station. Protest group Parents Concerned About Hinkley, which hopes to see the nuclear installation mothballed, is asking people to write in support of the wind power project. Members see the site as a clean alternative to nuclear power. PCAH group member Linda Marsh said: "We believe it is not a choice of wind or nothing in our area, but of wind or another nuclear power station. "This gets the thumbs down from most people, with the potential health risks and dangerous waste storage problems associated with nuclear power. "The kind of wind farm proposed will not answer all our problems, but it will give us time to develop other clean and renewable energy sources such as offshore wind and tidal power. "We are one of the windiest areas of Europe with the highest tides. "We haven't been aware of PCAH members objecting to the look of the windmills either. People do not seem to think of them as ugly, rather the opposite." The proposed wind farm, on land belonging to Lady Gass, was suggested a year ago. Power firm Your Energy applied for planning permission earlier this month. The firm claims the plant would generate enough electricity for 20,000 homes each year. There is strong local opposition from those who argue it would ruin the Shurton Bars beach area, as well as the Quantocks landscape. John Lucas, of Save Shurton Bars, said: "When the wind doesn't blow, quite simply, something else has got to take up the demand. "It is not a choice between a wind farm or Hinkley Point C, it is a case of whether to build wind power in addition to other forms of generation." West Somerset District Council is expected to make a decision on the wind farm in the autumn. Supporters or opponents to the scheme have until August 27 to send views to the planning department, West Somerset District Council, Williton, TA4 4QA.