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Windfarm would be 'disaster' - farmers

10:10am Tuesday 11th November 2008


FARMERS living next to a proposed windfarm in the Valleys say the plans would be a “disaster” for them if it is given the go-ahead.

Pennant Wind Energy Ventures Ltd wants to build four 328 ft high turbines on a four-hectare site on Mynydd James mountain at Blaentillery between Cwmtillery and Blaina.

An application was originally submitted for 24 turbines in November 2003, but this was scaled down to the four-turbine plan now up for debate. Blaenau Gwent council has deferred making a decision on the proposal for a site meeting.

Derek Jones has farmed land next to the site in Cwmtillery for more than 50 years.

Mr Jones, 73, said: “We have put in a lifetime of work on our farm, if the planning application gets the go-ahead we will be right in the face of the turbines.

“There is nothing that can be said that will change my mind as I simply don’t want it here.”

Mr Jones has a herd of 500 sheep on the mountain where the wind turbines are proposed, and he also breeds pedigree sheepdogs at his Blaentillery Farm House, 600 metres away from the site.

Mr Jones added that he has concerns for the welfare of his animals as well as himself and his wife Ann, 70.

He said: “My sheep would certainly be disturbed and suffer when the machinery is being put in place and we are going to have to work extra hard to make sure they do not stray from their grazing ground.

“The noise will also have a big impact on my sheepdogs.

“If you have a sensitive dog, who some are, the turbines could frighten them and I won’t be able to get them out to herd the sheep.”

Anthony Price, 58, has owned nearby Ty Andrew Farm, Cwmcelyn, for 50 years and is another farmer who is against the proposal.

He said: “I have grazing rights for my sheep on Mynydd James, what will that mean for me.

“I fear that the scheme is unsafe and the area is not suitable for such turbines.”

A public meeting will take place at 8pm tonight to discuss the proposals at St Peter’s Church in Blaina.


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Your Say YourGwent

bingeupman, Barry says...
12:08pm Tue 11 Nov 08

I'm sure the farmers aren't happy about the windfarms, but surely there is more at stake than a bit of stock and sheepdog discomfort! The alternative - a nuclear or coalfired power station in your backyard isn't nice either! I think it is time for farmers and landowners to stop carping about green energy sources and start to face facts.

Other countries seem to have no problems with grazing around the wind turbines - just look at Germany and Denmark, where this is common!

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DG, Newport says...
3:30pm Tue 11 Nov 08

I understand that the sheepdog trials in Delabole, Cornwall take place very close to the windfarm. It will be beneficial to the dog breeding business if the pups can be shown to be unafraid of windfarms - which, if they grow up near them, they will be.

I do understand that it must be difficult to come to terms with the changing face of a landscape you've loved for 50+ years, though.

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beese, blaina says...
10:10pm Tue 11 Nov 08

i am all for green energy but wind turbines are not the way to go. Not only are they are ablight on our landscape they produce very little electricity, they are noisy and are known to cause health problems to communites nearby hence the term "wind turbine syndrome" which has been recognised by doctors. These are just a few disadvantes, i could go on and on! The only people gaining out of these wind turbines is the company putting them there and they obviously have little or no respect for the people who will have to live with these monstrosities day in day out.

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cyberman, newport says...
6:35am Wed 12 Nov 08

totaly agree with bingeupman what do the farmers want nuclear power stations everywhere bit selfish that ,look uk has hardly got a farming industry left ,im sure the farmers will get paid for having the turbines situated on their land ,farmers for years have alway been harping on how poor they are ? give me a break if you sold some of your land you,d be quids in ,ithink theres abit of greed and selfishness here .solar power wind turbines are the future and safer its for all of us ,so im afraid bit of noise which the sheep and sheep dogs would soon get use to doesnt cut it ,think farmers just want to do and say what they always have said when they see anyone walking across one of there many fields ,hey you get off my land its my field ,mine mine ,greed we need wind turbines and we,ll land up having them or in years to come well all be living in the dark lol humans come before animals when it comes to the crunch not the other way around .

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Newbridge, Newbridge says...
1:56pm Wed 12 Nov 08

cyberman wrote:
totaly agree with bingeupman what do the farmers want nuclear power stations everywhere bit selfish that ,look uk has hardly got a farming industry left ,im sure the farmers will get paid for having the turbines situated on their land ,farmers for years have alway been harping on how poor they are ? give me a break if you sold some of your land you,d be quids in ,ithink theres abit of greed and selfishness here .solar power wind turbines are the future and safer its for all of us ,so im afraid bit of noise which the sheep and sheep dogs would soon get use to doesnt cut it ,think farmers just want to do and say what they always have said when they see anyone walking across one of there many fields ,hey you get off my land its my field ,mine mine ,greed we need wind turbines and we,ll land up having them or in years to come well all be living in the dark lol humans come before animals when it comes to the crunch not the other way around .
Another succinct, coherent, well structured argument there. Well done. Gold star.

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DJD3, nantyglo says...
6:03pm Wed 12 Nov 08

This is an odd one? 99% of wind farms in Wales are on farmland - many times it is the farmer that has got the planning. These boys have "grazing rights" on the common land as the article says(the proposal is not on their farms at all) and so they are not sharing in the revenue from the windfarm. Are they really against green energy or just green with envy?


Another great piece of work by the Argus.



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beese, blaina says...
10:41pm Wed 12 Nov 08

in response to DJD3 nantyglo, i also live on a farm near Blaina and believe me its got nothing to do with money. We dont want the these wind turbines due to the health problems they can cause and i dont want my young children to grow up in an environment where they may be made ill, or is that too much to ask in the name of "green" energy.

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mr woo, newport says...
1:19am Thu 13 Nov 08

irecently come to wales to live i move to newbridge it very great place.i agwee with newbridge comments ,and idnt wont to see wind tubines everywhere too .

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DG, Newport says...
12:16pm Thu 13 Nov 08

The only evidence of wind farms causing health problems that I've been able to find is anecdotal evidence on webpages run by anti-windfarm activists. There may be some noise and vibration, but no more than living near a busy road - and with 100% less harmful emissions to worry about.

And if we're looking at the same story, the only reason blades fell off that turbine last week was because it was on fire. It's not as though they suddenly came flying off during normal operation and frisbeed though the air like Oddjob's hat.

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lizand, says...
6:28pm Mon 17 Nov 08

Is it me or would I be right in thinking those whinging about the farmers whinging don't live in the area being discussed.

Just a thought.


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Hywel Jones, Newport says...
9:39pm Mon 17 Nov 08

Derek Jones (no relation) and farmers like him are indeed fortunate to have lived through an age of low-ish atmospheric CO2 concentration; cheap oil for running their farm machinery; and cheap fertilisers manufactured in huge industrial plants far from the point of use.

But times are changing. Global warming and peak oil mean that, today, we have fewer choices than the farmers of yesterday. All of us will have to get used to many of our hill-tops sporting the ultra-modern, efficient, and low-noise wind turbines that are already becoming graceful additions to many locations.

Years of wasted energy - including wasteful intensive farming techniques - mean that we have no choice. Unless, of course, we find better ways of harnessing the power of the wind.


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Liv, says...
1:35pm Fri 5 Dec 08

What a lot of reactionary nonsense.
I've had a garden a couple of hundred yards away from the Delabole wind farm for 5 years and can tell you with the authority of one who truely knows that all those fears are unfounded. Re. noise: the turbines are audible 1 day in 9, a gentle swoosh swoosh far more quiet than a car. Re. Livestock: Sheep, horses and cows take no notice of the turbines whatsoever, they're more interested in grazing.
Re. Dog trialing: The trials here grow year on year - would the competitors bring their dogs to a site which affected their performance?
Re. Wildlife: I've witnessed an annual increase in native species diversity and numbers, espcially bird numbers. And, no, they never ever get caught up in the blades!
The wind farm is beautiful and sculptural, incredible to see at sunset. It helps to meet the need for power in a sustainable way with no discernable negative environmental impact I can see, quite the oppositte in fact!
Would I be writing so enthusiastically if my garden was 200yards away from a nuclear power station I wonder...?!

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WORRIED: Farmer Derek Jones, left, with sheepdog sue and neighbours, Anthony Price and Gareth Davies, right WORRIED: Farmer Derek Jones, left, with sheepdog sue and neighbours, Anthony Price and Gareth Davies, right


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