Airport to continue to fight wind turbines plan
14.01.08
Newcastle Airport officials are refusing to admit defeat in their battle against plans to build 7 huge wind turbines on the Northumberland coastline. It is to continue to fight the plans, with aircraft safety fears over the height of the giant structures possibly set to be examined by a Government planning inspector at a public inquiry.
Site owner Hainsford Energy wants to replace the existing 9 turbines at Wansbeck Blyth Harbour Wind Farm with the 7 much bigger and more powerful machines to create a facility capable of powering 11,600 homes. The new turbines - six 125m high and the seventh, set to be the tallest land-based turbine in Europe at 163m - were given the green light by Wansbeck councillors last week, despite an objection from the airport saying that it would be 'quite wrong' to give the scheme the green light.
Airport officials say the wind farm could cause interference on air traffic control radar screens and pose a potential threat to aircraft safety. They also say that they might have to create an exclusion zone around the wind farm, because of the height of the turbines, and re-route incoming and outbound flights by at least five nautical miles.
Newcastle Airport's head of planning and corporate affairs, Graeme Mason, has said that he will be asking the Secretary of State to 'call in' the planning application and hold a public inquiry because of the unresolved safety concerns.
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