Darwen Scenes

There are more issues to wind turbines than just the landscape.
With experience of this new technology serious problems are emerging.
Discover why the House of Lords is debating that turbine to nearest dwelling distance should be no less than 1.5 kilometers for an 88.5 meter turbine.
Discover how hundreds of homes in Darwen could seriously affected.

Application Submitted for a Turbine at Cranberry and Roman Road

Cranberry

A further planning application has been submitted for a wind turbine on Cranberry Moor in Darwen. View the Planning Application from the Planning Department of Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Although this new application is for a machine 20 metres smaller (64.2 meters) it fails to address many concerns residents have expressed with regards to noise and distance from residential properties. The noise levels will be the same, the turbine size the same and the rotor diameter the same. We also still feel the visual impact of this wind turbine will be significant and dominate the local skyline. We believe this is unacceptable.

Earlier this year we gained significant support in objecting to the Cranberry Moor wind turbine. Over the coming weeks we will be organising numerous press releases and a further public meeting to allow the residents of Darwen to give their opinion and object if they so wish. To do this we need your help to raise awareness.

If you wish to object the the most recent planning application please write to or email Robert Buffham quoting planning reference 10/12/0457. The deadline for objections is the 13th July, however we will be seeking a further extension on this. Please make all friends, neighbours and other local residents aware of this planning application and encourage them to object and make contact with us so they can be added to the mailing list.

Each person over 18 in every household can object so if you are contacting the council please send one objection for each adult. We are also gauging the level of local support we have so could I ask that you objection letters are also Bcc'd to mvizzard@webcracker.co.uk. There is guidance on the website as to the content of objection letters but if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Roman Road

We have found out this morning (04/07/2012) that Viridis are submitting plans for a lower 55m Turbine in the Roman Road area. We will fight both of these applications.

We will be able to publish details of this as soon as we obtain information.

General Considerations

Anyone can apply for planning to erect a wind turbine on any bit of moorland that they own. If you think that "they would not allow that would they" be aware that the planning department have to work within current legislation and guidelines. The government have set the guidelines in such a way that it is possible to erect large turbines near people's homes. It is not enough to have a lot of people objecting to such applications if they fall within the current legislation. The guidelines and legislation relies on outdated methods that fail to take into account recent thinking about siting wind turbines near to peoples homes. The guidelines were developed for small turbine projects and simply extrapolated to apply to very large turbines where the problem of wind shear becomes more apparent.

There is a head of pressure developing in parliament to legislate against wind turbines being erected near to people's homes, but until there are legislative changes Darwen is at risk.

You can get more information from

  • Martin Vizzard Email (Campaign Co-ordinator)
  • Wayne Silver or Mark Burns (Campaign Co-ordinators) on 01254 771770 or 07788 101713
  • Details of the planning application is still available from Blackburn with Darwen Planning Department
  • Other pages of this web site

Against Cranberry Turbine (ACT) Statement of Objectives

  1. Developing general public awareness of the effects of the proposed developments on the environment, health and quality of life of local communities.
  2. Implementing a programme of presentations to local parish and town councils within the areas of high impact.
  3. Exerting general pressure on the determining Councils to reject proposals that contravene the primary objective.
  4. Liaising with nominated representatives of local councils and politicians to determine status, procedures and progress of planning processes.
  5. Influencing and determining the Government and councils to fully consider all aspects of environmental impact and asserting that any current or future developer of this site provides adequate and comprehensive information.
  6. Lobbying and influencing MPs, MEPs, and other local elected representatives and Council Members including those within the planning committees.
  7. Developing and organising a collection of well researched facts and figures that expose the negative impact on the local communities and contravene the primary objective.
  8. Designing, printing and distributing literature to local communities that support our objectives.
  9. Arranging and organising public meetings in order to demonstrate and win support for ACT’s objective.
  10. Monitoring the activities and submissions of CMS and any other future developer, to ensure that they are accurate, balanced and take into account the needs and views of local communities.
  11. Challenging CMS and any future developer, to provide detailed analysis and information on the effects and consequences of their proposals on local community/wildlife and the environment.
  12. Developing and implementing a marketing/communication and PR campaign to assist in the achieving of ACT primary objective.

We do not object to reasonable wind turbine projects on the moors of Darwen such as has already taken place in the Blacksnape area. It is not nimbyism. This is huge (88.5 meters tall) and a mere 365 meters from the nearest home in the Cranberry Residential area. It is within 1.5 kilometres from hundreds of homes in Darwen.