Stop Bridgnorth Wind Farm

Welcome

NEWS – July 2015 - The application (reference 15/00532/FUL) for one 77m wind turbine at Meadowley Upton Cressett has been REFUSED by Shropshire Council using delegated powers. We had expected the application to be considered by South Shropshire Planning Committee on 14 July 2015. (Note: This was a modified application for one turbine east of the Jack Mytton Way not two turbines as set out in the application of 2013. Whilst the deletion of one turbine is welcomed unfortunately the turbine proposed was on the T1 site which is the most prominent and the height at 77m to tip is similar to the previous height so the damage to the landscape and impact on homes and heritage remains high).

The planning officer’s report concludes that:

“The scale and location of the proposed 77m high wind turbine would have an unacceptably adverse effect on the setting of the nationally significant group of heritage assets at Upton Cressett Hall, on the character and scenic quality of the local landscape and on local amenities and leisure and tourism interests, including equestrian use of the Jack Mytton Way. This would be contrary to the objectives of Core Strategy Core Strategy Policies CS5, CS6, CS8, CS16, CS17 and paragraphs 14, 17(point 7), 28, 126, 131, 132, and 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework”

This is great news. We now await an announcement from CRIDA and Sharenergy. Should they decide to appeal against the Council decision, which they are entitled to do, we will of course respond robustly.

Many thanks to everyone for submitting objections and articulating their concerns so that the councillors and planning officers were clear that the community does not want this turbine.

A developer under the name CRIDA has submitted a planning application (click here to view) to erect two substantial industrial wind turbines (80m to blade tip) at Meadowley near Upton Cressett, straddling the historic Jack Mytton Way, Shropshire's 'flagship' tourist trail for riders, walkers and cyclists. The location is very close to houses (just 600m) and heritage sites. The development will totally dominate and spoil this area of South Shropshire countryside, impacting its skyline for many miles. It is inappropriate to the location and does not have local consent. The parish councils affected by this application (Morville and Chetton) have both unanimously objected to the application.

This website is run by a local campaign group opposed to the Criddon Hall Farm wind farm development.

Photo credit: Wheat Field near Upton Cressett, Shropshire (Roger Kidd) / CC BY-SA 2.0

The principal villages affected by the Crida wind farm proposal are Chetton, Underton, The Lye, Meadowley, Morville and Upton Cressett, the latter both being protected Scheduled Monuments, sites of Special Historic Interest and national heritage sites. Future wind farm planning applications that are believed to be pending will affect Aston Eyre and areas closer to Bridgnorth.

We are not opposed to renewable energy and welcome all initiatives to support local community efforts to reduce carbon emissions and explore alternative energy sources, such as bio mass and solar. However, we are opposed to the positioning of wind farms in wholly unsuitable locations that destroy the historic landscape, and specifically the skyline, are too close to peoples houses, endanger the character of local market towns and villages, negatively compromise local heritage assets and threaten wild life and the local economy.

Onshore wind farms are controversial. As a group we have had to research what it means to have 100m wind turbines close to homes and located in the community. The implications of such substantial moving structures are severe and unacceptable. In our view the proposed development is in the wrong place. We believe turbines of the size proposed should not be placed any closer than 1.5km from a residential dwelling. In Scotland a limit of 2km already exists. Underton, Meadowley, Chetton, Upton Cressett and parts of Morville are all within 2km of the proposed site.

For a selection of articles from the national press which explain how proposals for wind farms affect communities like Bridgnorth, see: