Turbine plans rejected

I think the decision is a real shame, I'm a regular visitor to IOW from Scotland where I live with over 50 turbines as part of 3 wind farms within about 15 miles of my home. It's just not a big deal in landscape terms particularly where you have other landscape features of scale that dominate the Island. I think fear of the unknown is more of an issue with objectors. I don't think it is incongruous to have turbines on the Island particularly given the previous manufacturing link and the early history of mechanical wind power at Bembridge. So many islands around Europe have benefited from wind turbine clusters from Gigha to Samso, so I just don't understand the objections. There is no evidence it would drive tourists away, in fact there is a visitor centre at Whitelee in Lanarkshire that gets more visitors than the world famous Scott Monument in Edinburgh each year.

Whilst attending the Planning Meeting on Monday, I missed one of my favourite programmes, Grand Designs.
I do urge anyone interested in wind "technology" to watch the Suffolk episode of 16 July on 4OD catch-up.
You never know, you may learn a thing or two.

"The problem is trying to get you green fascists to drop your government sponsored Marxism, so that the people can see the viable choices laid before them." James McComb
James still thinks he is in a Supermarket were he still has the freedom of choice. With the world's energy problem I am afraid James the time for choice has gone. The crux of the matter is we need to do something and fast. You might think there is some big government conspiracy or have some deep loathing for wind turbines. But at present all the renewable technology in the world we know of will not fix the problem or at very least not quickly enough. we are going have put everything we have to buy us time. The island has to do its bit not just for the Isle of Wight but for everyone in the world.

Be Perplexed? By the people who can’t do simple math, fossil fuels will run out before we come up with a solution. No one type of renewable energy source will be able to replace them. At that meeting in the article everyone was banging on about solar. Yes solar panels are good and it is great we have them on the island but wind is needed too.
We built army bunkers and other such construction in AONB (not just next to) to protect our way of life; i understand the compromises needed to build them then. In comparison wind turbines are small price to pay to protect our way of life this time and to protect the island's ANOBs. This is threat and it is just as real ….This is a war? A struggle if you will. It is just this time the enemy is us! As soon as the nimbi’s' and general ignorant "someone else will do it" types realize this, the better.
A lot needs to change? Many compromises have to be made? And things we don’t like are going have to be done? Just don’t look to anyone

I think they should put a generator in Bembridge windmill, and Calbourne water mill, and the old Yafford mill, get them working again and do something useful with them.
Also in the prisons, a large hamster wheel, let the prisoners run in it, keep fit, help power the island.
That is 4 turbines sorted, where can we put the 5th? County Hall, all that hot air going to waste...

Don't be perplexed by the large number of "supporting" comments. The wind industry are experts at creating support by canvassing people who generally sign a form that wind is a good idea with no knowledge of the project details they are signing for. The Planning Officer's Report made it clear that a mass duplicated form is not worth the same as a considered letter of objection from a local resident. But some of the support - not much - comes from sincere believers in all the renewables propaganda of course. That's understandable - it's not that easy for them to distinguish between green energy and greed energy, and wind in particular has turned quite dirty. With apologies to Lord Acton, power corrupts and subsidised power corrupts absolutely.

@ James McComb,
Its the same old story.
When we had the Cheverton Down Public Inquiry, which lasted for weeks, I promise you that no more than 6 "Supporters" of wind farms bothered to turn up.
There are a half dozen "activists" who will turn up at Bestival, Festival, Garlic etc., have a little stall marked "SAY YES TO WIND", or something equally banal and then Chug passers-by into "signing" a pro-forma piece of paper which says something like "I love wind farms- they look great" and then parcel the whole lot up and take them into Seaclose offices.
If there IS all this support, where were they on Monday?
Only 36 turned up out of 177?
Says it all!
Pathetic!

SORRY ROBERT SMITH but WRITING some words in capitals DOESN'T make them CORRECT!

It's quite clear in the overall numbers that there were more comments in support than against - which personally I find quite surprising. In any issue I've ever come across that causes division of opinion it's far easier to get those against something to make some effort to put a point across, those in support often don't bother to tell anyone.

So the planning dept/councillors do not seemed to have listened.

SORRY DAN and JORDEN. But yet again the planning dept has lisend to the people. WE dont WONT wind farms on OUR island. If you like them so much GO and live where they are already QUICK because MORE of us are now having our views taken into consideration.

I'm sorry, but I'd take Wind farms over landscape. People are thick. Who ever rejected this should be punched in the face for being an idiot rejecting something like this, screw people who think "ohhh it'll make the landscape look horrible :[ ). Its funny how were suppose to be "an eco Island" but yet we turn down things like this for landscape. Pathetic.

Any views or opinions presented in the comments above are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the Isle of Wight County Press.