Eleventh turbine is planned for village

F B Parrish & Son of Hill Farm, Edworth Road, Langford has submitted a planning application requesting permission to erect 500kW wind turbine at the farm.

The new wind farm, which contains 10 turbines, is about 1.3km away, on land north of Edworth Road.

This additional turbine, which would not be connected to the wind farm in any way, would be 87m tall with the blade at its highest point.

This is shorter than the turbines on the adjacent wind farm, which reach 110m at their highest points.

The main body of the turbine would be 60m tall and it would rotate in order to catch the wind.

It would be positioned in an arable field.

The application says: “The harvest over the last year has been relatively poor following the wet conditions of 2012 and the dry conditions experienced this year.

“The applicant therefore wishes to diversify the farming operation to reduce the risk of exposure to poor harvest periods.”

Discussing the location of the turbine, it says: “The landscape within which the site is located is considered to be able to accommodate the wind turbine without any unacceptable visual impacts.

“Furthermore, the site will not have any unacceptable adverse impact on the amenities of residential properties in the surrounding area.”

It later adds: “In general, although the landscape retains a predominantly open rural character, the sense of remoteness and tranquillity is diminishing.

“Increasing pressure from residential, agricultural and commercial development, particularly to the north, is evident with skylines increasingly dominated by manmade structures in this area.”

The site’s average wind speed over a year is 6.1m/s; this is higher than the national average for rural locations which is 5m/s.

It is estimated that the proposed turbine would produce enough electricity to power 525 homes annually.

To view the application go to http://bit.ly/1dviakQ