No glare and no dazzle — that’s the pledge for five large wind turbines to be built off the A66.
The scheme was this week granted planning permission by Eden local planning committee. It is part of a renewable energy development to power the Ullswater Heights Holiday Home and Lodge site near Flusco, Newbiggin.
The five 20kw “vertical axis” turbines — as opposed to the traditional horizontal propeller type — are designed to have a “very limited profile” in the landscape, explained Mark Lynch, planning manager at the new Westmorland and Furness Council, when the matter came up for decision at a meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Lynch said the turbines had no glare or dazzle and the colour would not be white so they would blend in, the committee was told.
The new development will include 15 rows of 4,200 south-facing ground-mounted solar panels built 3.5 metres off the ground.
A “plant room” is also needed, which opponents likened to a “shipping container”. Mr Lynch said the development covered about 4.5 hectares of countryside.
Wendy Sockett, for applicants, Leisure Resorts Ltd, told the committee that the Government had committed to a decarbonised energy supply by 2035 to reduce greenhouse gases.
She said: “The application before you has been developed with this Government target in mind.
“The proposed mix and volume of renewable energy infrastructure is designed to power the holiday park, reducing, if not removing, its dependence on the National Grid, and dramatically reducing its carbon footprint by over 400,000kg a year.”
Of concerns raised by Dacre Parish Council and Greystoke Parish Council, she added: “We appreciate that there are major community concerns over the use of wind turbines, however, as the officer has already mentioned, these are not the usual type and have a vertical blade system.”
The eight members of the committee approved the scheme in a unanimous vote.
