Why are we opposing this development?...
We should all be opposed to this development because, it will destroy the visual and landscape amenity of a significant area in Weaver Valley for ever.
It is not a suitable development for Green Belt land as proven by the overwhelming refusal by Vale Royal Borough Council to allow this development to go ahead. It is sad that the developers have refused to acknowledge local and democratic opposition to this development, forcing us, to continue fighting to protect this special place.
Recently on the BBC Costing the Earth Programme, Malcome Wicks (MP) said "It is not just up to the commercial companies, there needs to be a planning application. Depending upon the size of the wind farm either the local authority or central government will take judgement on that and if it does not fit into local amenity or if it seems to be environmentally the wrong thing to do, the answer will be no, that windfarm should not go ahead.."
The visual impact of the wind farm will be immense. Each of the 4 towers will be 125 metres high; Taller than Big Ben and the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Towers. - Click here for comparison
If planning consent is given for the site at Aston there are likely to be many more developers jumping on the band wagon and wind turbines will become prevalent in Cheshire.
This will be the first wind farm in Cheshire. The proposed area is green belt and planning was refused by Vale Royal on the grounds that very special circumstances had not been demonstrated to allow the destruction of the green belt. The government hopes for wind farms to make up around 10% of the production of electricity by 2010. This will require thousands of large wind turbines intruding on the sky line over most of Britain. If this goes ahead it will set a very dangerous precedent and may lead to further destruction of this protected land.
Aston Wind Farm will permanently destroy a beautiful local environment
The proposed wind farm at Aston is entirely within the North Cheshire Green Belt, runs over Areas of Special County Value, Local Environmental Value and the new Weaver Valley Regional Park, and is near to or overlaps two Sites of Biological Importance and the Trent and Mersey Canal (BE12 Historic Environment) Conservation Area and at least one proposed tower is immediately adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It borders the new Woodland Trust acquisition of Dutton Park farm, whose patrons and trustees secured over £450,000 to buy and invest in the natural, ecological development of this beautiful part of Cheshire.
Within this essentially rural area, it is hard to imagine a more insensitive choice of site.
The Weaver Valley, particularly the stretch of towpath between the A49 and the historic Dutton Locks, is extremely popular with families, and provides a readily accessible all-weather pedestrian and cycle route into beautiful countryside, linking to paths and bridleways in Acton Bridge and beyond. For people walking down-stream towards the locks, the proposed turbine installation would completely dominate the view, towering above the wooded slopes of the valley and clearly visible against the western sky. The proposed development would utterly change the character of this valuable outdoor resource, and it is entirely contrary to the intentions of the County and Borough Councils (and indeed central government) in encouraging the public to take their outdoor exercise locally, while enjoying the peace and beauty of the natural environment.
People living close to Aston Wind Farm will find the noise very disturbing.
The wind industry has a history of dismissing the noise problem but those living close to wind farms find the noise levels completely unacceptable and are enraged that promises about noise given in advance turn out to be shallow and meaningless. The most intrusive noise comes from the blade moving through the air. The noise is a penetrating, low frequency "thump" each time the blade passes the turbine tower.