Meeting tonight at 8pm - The effect of a 12 Turbine Wind Farm near Formby

Can I ask you to imagine for a moment the huge height of the Liverpool Radio City Tower. Most of us have looked up and got dizzy with its huge 452ft structure. Now, just imagine if that tower was placed near Formby at Great Altcar. It would completely dominate the landscape, completely change our countryside with its sheer scale and size.

Now I want you to imagine, not one tower, not two towers, not even ten towers - I want you to imagine TWELVE TOWERS AT GREAT ALTCAR - TWELVE towers the size of the Liverpool Radio City Tower right our doorstep of Formby. Twelve wind turbines each standing at a colossal 447 feet high, just 5 feet shorter than the Radio City tower.

The impact on our beautiful Formby landscape is bad enough but, what about house prices as well. Surely the impact is detrimental to us all. In the first study, property prices of homes within 1.2 miles of wind farms were reduced by 11%.

The people of Formby need to get involved in the opposition against these wind turbines or they will go ahead. There is a meeting tonight at 8pm in Ince Blundell Village Hall. All 12 counsellors from the Sefton borough will be addressing this application in their own right. WE REALLY NEED YOUR SUPPORT.

Look at the sheer size of one blade

They will have to build a new road from the Formby bypass to accommodate the 21,000 HGV loads to and from the site which would cause significant delays and disruption in traffic.

Noise pollution off one is pictured above, imagine noise from twelve

You may be aware of the original 2013 planning application that was submitted by the company Coriolis to West Lancs Council for 24 Blackpool tower sized turbines to be erected in Great Altcar. Following the initial consultation period the Council said that the application been incomplete and needed further info.

Since this time, the H-Alt Action Group - which mainly includes members mainly from Ince Blundell but also Lydiate - set up to fight this application.

At the time Coriolis did do public exhibitions explaining their plans but only in the small villages of Ince Blundell and Lydiate. This application would also affect the residents of Formby, Maghull, Aughton and Hightown due to the shere scale and size of the turbines.

The Coriolis application was re-submitted the week before Christmas (!) and has been revised down to 12 turbines similar height to the Radio City Tower in Liverpool. We only have till the end of January to register our objections (this has been extended, the date was originally 6th January).

The majority of people from Formby that I know are NOT aware of these plans and WHERE the turbines will be situated.

If the plans are approved there will need to be a new road built from the bypass to accommodate the 21,000 HGV loads to and from the site, the delays and disruption to traffic would be significant. Not to mention the health concerns caused by noise and light flicker from the turbines.

These are just a few of the issues, please read through our summary below from HALT for more info. You can also visit our website to see a map of where the turbines will be built if the plans are approved.

If would be fantastic if as many people from Formby could attend the meeting tonight at 8pm Ince Blundell Village Hall. All 12 counsellors from the Sefton borough will be addressing this application in their own right. WE REALLY NEED YOU SUPPORT.

HALT

Lower Alt Wind Farm Planning Application 2015

An application for planning permission for a 12 Turbine Wind Farm has now been submitted to West Lancashire Borough Council.

These turbines will be situated on farmland on Altcar Moss and overlooked by the villages of

Great Altcar,
Lydiate,
Maghull,
Sefton,
Ince Blundell,
Hightown
Formby.

The Turbines will be 136.5m (447 feet) high (2 ½ times the height of the existing Pylons) and almost as tall as the Liverpool Radio City Tower!! These massive structures will dominate this low lying landscape and have an enormous impact on residents of both West Lancashire and Sefton.

From the 18 June 2015 planning applications for Wind farms can only be granted if:

The development site is in an area identified as suitable for wind energy development in a Local Plan.
Following consultation, it can be demonstrated that the planning impacts identified by affected local communities have been fully addressed and therefore the proposal has their backing.

(source: Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 18 June 2015)

As a result we need to prove that there is overwhelming local community objection to this proposal. To do this we need as many people as possible to submit objections to West Lancashire Borough Council by 13th January 2016

How Do I submit an objection to the building of the Wind Farm?

You can either:

1. Submit objections online at http://www.westlancs.gov.uk/planning quoting the planning reference 2015/1055/FUL by 13th January 2016 OR

2. In writing to West Lancashire Planning, PO Box 16, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF quoting the planning reference 2015/1055/FUL by 13th January 2016

It is vitally important that each letter is individually written and is not a standard letter signed by the objector. If they receive a 100 identical letters all worded the same they are likely to be discounted, however if they receive 100 letters written slightly differently from a personal perspective, then they have to take note!

EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD CAN WRITE THEIR OWN LETTER OF OBJECTION, INCLUDING CHILDREN AGED UNDER 18.

THE MORE LETTERS RECEIVED BY WEST LANCS THE GREATER THE CHANCE THAT THEY WILL TAKE NOTE OF COMMUNITY OBJECTION.

ASK FRIENDS AND RELATIVES TO SEND LETTERS AS WELL.

What do I need to say to make my objection count?

You need to state that you are

a local resident or
have a local interest and
will be personally affected by this development and
include some or all of the following reasons.

Again these need to be written from your own personal viewpoint eg. You may live in a property directly overlooking the site and therefore visual, noise and impact on your daily life may be of concern. In contrast you may live locally, walk regularly along the footpaths and be concerned about the impact on local wildlife and loss of farmland habitats.

You ideally need to use bullet points as all letters of objection are summarised by planning staff before presentation and you must include your name and address but do not include telephone numbers, signature or an email address.

Examples of areas and points to focus on are given below, however please remember to put these in context with your own particular situation and not just copy them word for word:

Twelve Reasons you may wish to use to Object

Green Belt and Ecological Impact - The proposed area is part of the Green Belt and contains deep peat deposits providing Grade 1 and 2 agricultural land.

The proposed wind farm construction would release large amounts of carbon in disturbance of the peat soils during construction and at least 12 hectares (30 acres) of highly productive farmland (capable of producing 180,000 loaves of bread a year) would be lost as a result. If the turbines are dismantled after 25 years (they may just reapply to replace them) the concrete pads and groundworks will be left behind, leaving a permanent legacy and impact on the landscape.

Policy EN2 of the West Lancashire Local Plan seeks to conserve the areas deep peat resources due to the role it plays as a unique habitat and important carbon store and to protect the best and most versatile agricultural land which is of national significance.

Wind Farm Suitability The area in question has not been identified as suitable for a Wind Farm in the Local Plan.

The Renewable Energy Capacity Study 2011 for the Liverpool City Region which the Local Plan refers to, states in Table 2 ‘Constraints’ that Deep Peat Areas and Bird Migratory Zones are prohibitive for wind farm development.

Residential Impact Residents close to the proposed site are at risk from disturbance and health problems due to shadow flicker and noise. Due to the flat, low lying nature of the land and size and scale of the turbines it is impossible to screen properties from this disturbance.

In a minimum distance of 2km (1.5miles) is recommended between a wind turbine and residential property due to disturbance. **England has no such minimum distance **

Local Nature Impact The Lower Alt area contains a Biological Heritage Area designation, is adjacent to the Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve and is a rare oasis of relatively undisturbed habitat.

As well as being host to an estimated 40,000 overwintering pink foot geese it also contains many such as and others including , , and .

The Turbines are a in particular as they fly at Turbine height both during the day and at night. The area also contains

The West Lancashire Local plan Policies Map shows the area of the proposed development as including a wildlife corridor and being a Nature Conservation Site. Policy EN2 of the Local Plan states that ‘the council is committed to ensuring the protection and enhancement of West Lancashire’s biodiversity and that consideration should be given to the impact of development proposals on Wildlife Corridors.’

Recreational Impact – The Cheshire Lines footpath and bridleway (part of the Trans Pennine Trail) runs adjacent to the proposed Wind Farm.

This is a valuable and well used local resource enabling residents from the adjacent urban areas of Maghull and Lydiate to access the peace and tranquillity of the first large area of open countryside to be found upon leaving the outskirts of Merseyside.

The proposal would adversely affect this valuable which separates the surrounding urban areas and would .

Construction Impact The Lower Alt Wind Farm will have a major impact on local communities due to increase in traffic during the construction. Due to the soft peaty soils this development will require large amounts of concrete and aggregate to be used not only in construction of the turbines but in building over 10km (6.5 miles) access tracks capable of taking the weight of HGV’s cranes used for erection of turbines.

This will result in excess of an estimated 21,000 HGV loads bringing adverse noise impacts upon local residents during construction phase and traffic disruption.

Cultural Heritage Impact The flat, low lying nature of the land means that the development cannot be screened from view and will destroy the existing character of an area of high heritage value, being surrounded by listed buildings and conservation areas in Great Altcar, Ince Blundell and Sefton Village

In addition to Grade 1 listed buildings in Lydiate, Sefton Village and Ince Blundell,

the proposed area for the Wind Farm is also historically significant having been actively farmed since drainage in the 13th Century

Flood Risk Impact The deep peat of the area in question lies over a layer of clay under which is an aquifer. Construction of the Turbines risks puncturing the aquifer and thus releasing water into the current drainage system which has to be pumped both at Hey Cop and Altcar pumping stations at public expense.

The proposed area is part of Zone 2 and 3 flood risk. Policy GN3 of West Lancashire Local Plan states that any development should be located away from flood zones 2 & 3. This proposal has the potential to adversely contribute towards the flood risk of the immediate area as well as contributing additional water into the drainage system.

Agricultural and Local Economy Impact Altcar Moss is predominantly Grade 1 & Grade 2 agricultural land which is the most productive and fertile and is of national importance in its production of cereals and vegetables for both local and national markets.

In addition to loss of at least 12 hectares (30 acres), the displacement of overwintering birds, in particular pink foot geese, due to disturbance from turbines, will result in increased damage to vegetable and cereal crops in surrounding areas. This will result in adverse effects on the economic viability of surrounding farm businesses.

Visual Impact The size and scale of the turbines would have a severe and dominating visual impact in a flat lying area making it inappropriate to have tall structures which are * * * more than twice the height of existing Pylons * * *

It will be impossible to mitigate the negative visual impact of these tall structures in such a low lying area.

Lack of Public Consultation - The most recent public consultation by Coriolis took place midweek in August and local residents were only given a few days’ notice, resulting in many missing opportunities to find out further information and put forward their views.

There were also a number of residents in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site which were not even notified of the consultations.

Property Value Impact – a study by the London School of Economics in 2014 found that the value of homes within 1.2 miles of wind farms was reduced by 11%. This is the first study to prove that Wind Farms have a Negative impact on house prices

Please visit the website to find out any more information that you need.

http://www.h-alt.info/

We are preparing further detail on noise, shadow flicker, wildlife and traffic.

1. Landscape Impact

The South Western Mosses and the adjoining Carr Farmlands and Estate Farmlands (in Sefton) comprise low lying, flat and open mossland and farmland. They are distinctive areas, visible for many miles and provide a great asset to residents of and visitors to W Lancs, Sefton, Knowsley and Liverpool.

The area is flat, low-lying and sparsely populated and its landscape is characterised by wide views to distant skylines. The landscape is large scale and open with few vertical features of any prominence.

The proposed development would result in harm in environmental and landscape terms and will deny the best of today’s environment for at least a generation.

The Turbines

Due to their proposed height (450ft), the effect of the turbines on the landscape would be overwhelming. The windfarm would become the defining characteristic of the landscape.

It is already recognised in West Lancs Council’s Supplementary Planning Guidance on Natural Areas and Areas of Landscape History Importance (the “West Lancs Landscape SPD”) that tall columnar construction of any kind is inappropriate in this area.

Twelve 450ft turbines (each the size of the Radio City Tower in Liverpool) is especially inappropriate and would completely change the emphasis and nature of our landscape.

It is difficult to over emphasise the overwhelming nature of the height of the turbines for residents and visitors. The nearest comparators we have are the Radio City Tower (450ft), Blackpool Tower (510ft) and Liverpool Cathedral (331ft). Those buildings and structures are all nationally recognised landmarks due to their size.

Other Components of the Scheme

In addition to the 12 450ft turbines there are proposed 12 crane hard standing areas, 12 external transformers, an electricity sub station, two wind monitoring masts and road network between the turbines (which the developer has played down as “access tracks’) and the consequent traffic movement for construction, operation, repair, maintenance and monitoring.

The West Lancs Landscape SPD recognises that any visual detractor on the South Western Mosses will be “especially prominent due to flat and open landscape (apart from woodland blocks)” and recommends that any existing detractors should be screened or removed wherever possible. It also recommends that the existing road and track alignments are retained and the “introduction of obtrusive engineering accouterments” is to be avoided.

While the turbines themselves will dominate and probably overwhelm the landscape, the additional components of the Planning Proposal will (by themselves) amount to a proliferation of visual detractors with respect to the landscape and will fundamentally and negatively change the fabric, character and quality of the landscape.

The West Lancs Landscape SPD recognises that trees are mainly absent from this area and that there are relatively few woodlands (with existing woodlands usually in discrete blocks). The SPD recommends that new tree planting should be limited to existing settlements or farmsteads and any new woodland be linked to existing woodland. The landscape is so open and flat that even the environmental impact of tree planting and new woodlands is to be controlled. This should illustrate quite clearly to planners that the proposed scheme with 12 450ft turbines and all of the other industrial components will fundamentally and adversely alter the fabric, character and quality of the landscape.

Night Sky

The Lower Alt area has relatively little road side or other lighting. The lighting systems required by the 12 turbines, the 2 weather masts, 12 transformers, electricity substation, the crane hard standing areas, construction compoundsand access roads will change the night sky landscape into one of red and white lights normally associated with industry.

The lights will constitute a very significant visual detractor to the existing night sky landscape.

The West Lancs Landscape SPD recommends that any development requiring lighting systems should be avoided due to the there being very little road-side or other lighting.

The Planning Proposal will have a very significant and adverse effect on the fabric, character and quality of the night sky landscape.

2. Visual Impact

In low lying Sefton, the turbines, weather masts and industrial buildings will feature almost permanently in views of almost all residents of Ince Blundell, Hightown, Formby, Sefton, Thornton, Netherton, Aintree, Maghull and Lydiate. The impact on residents and visitors to these areas will be to radically change their viewing experience from open, flat, low lying Green Belt to an industrial view dominated by giant turbines.

Many of those residents already experience views of wind turbines.

The off shore windfarm at Burbo Bank and the on shore wind farms at Seaforth Docks and Liverpool Docks are already prominent (in the case of Burbo Bank, dominant) features in the views experienced by many residents in Sefton.

The Burbo Bank offshore windfarm is [4.2 miles] from the Sefton Coast. There are currently [24] turbines, each of [450ft] and constitute a very prominent feature in views west from Sefton. The Burbo Bank offshore windfarm has received permission to install another [61] turbines so that there will be [85] turbines in total.

The only way of avoiding a windfarm view for many residents of Sefton is to look inland (towards West Lancashire).

If the Lower Alt Wind farm is installed as proposed, residents will feel surrounded by very large turbines.

Additionally, all road and rail journeys from Bootle and Switch Island to Southport (and places in between such as Formby) will be impacted by the almost constant view of wind turbines.

3. Heritage Assets

A large part of the South Western Mosses is within an area of Landscape History of County Importance. The areas contain many heritage assets and the scale, design and prominence of the turbines, weather masts, substations will have a very significant and negative impact on those assets and will cause significant harm to the significance of those assets.

The fabric and feel of conservation areas such as Great Altcar, Sefton Village, Carr Houses in Ince Blundell and Little Crosby Village will be negatively impacted by the scale, prominence and proximity of the turbines. Great Altcar, Sefton Village, Carr Houses and Little Crosby will be would be completely transformed (for the worse) by the immediate backdrop of giant turbines.

The scale, prominence and proximity of the turbines will cause substantial harm to the significance of those conservation areas. The setting of those conservation areas would be completely changed and would render their designation as conservation areas as almost pointless as the feel and character of those areas would be already lost.

Due to the low lying, flat and open nature of The South Western Mosses, the Carr Farmlands and Estate Farmlands, Hightown, Formby, Maghull and up to Clieves Hill and Aughton, a number of very significant heritage assets such as Sefton Church, St Mary’s in Little Crosby, Ince Blundell Hall and others can be seen (and were originally designed to be seen from distance (at least up to 5 miles away). The setting of those heritage assets covers a very wide area far beyond the physical presence of those heritage assets.

The historic character of nearby farmsteads and settlements (including Ince Blundell) will not be retained as the local environment will be dominated by the sight and sound of very large and tall industrial equipment.