Following the release of new data, national and regional environmental groups have today called on the world-famous Glyndebourne Opera House to abandon their plan to build a giant wind turbine in the South Downs National Park.
The data gathered by the wind mast, which has been measuring wind speeds for a year, shows that the power likely to be generated by the turbine is a third less than predicted.
Ruth Chambers of the Campaign for National Parks said: “This data casts serious doubt on the plans for a large turbine at Glyndebourne. With the wind resource proven to be much lower than predicted, common sense should now prevail – the turbine should not be built and the stunning South Downs landscape should remain free of such industrial structures.”
From the South Downs Society, Jacquetta Fewster said: “The landscape of the South Downs is far too precious to be blighted by an industrial-scale wind turbine. Now the data has shown the level of wind to be even lower than originally estimated, we again call on Glyndebourne to drop the turbine idea and look to other ways to reduce their carbon footprint.”
Stuart Meier of the Sussex Campaign to Protect Rural England commented: "We always said this was the wrong place to put an industrial-scale turbine, not least due to lack of wind. Glyndebourne's own tests have now shown their claimed figures were wrong, and that we were right. They should now back down, and find a better way to invest in renewable energy."
Kate Ashbrook of the Open Spaces Society said: “As we predicted, the arguments by Glyndebourne for erecting this turbine have proved to be merely hot air. It would be outrageous to desecrate the newly-confirmed South Downs National Park with such a pointless structure.”
David Murray of the Ramblers said: “With the confirmation of the South Downs as a National Park just last week, this large scale development in a protected landscape is sending out the wrong message to other developers who are keen to exploit this precious green space in the region. The South Downs is a real walking asset and the Ramblers doesn’t want to see that eroded by such industrial developments.”
The South Downs Environmental Protection Consortium was set up to discourage industrial-scale development on the South Downs and comprises the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Campaign for National Parks, the Open Spaces Society, the Ramblers and the South Downs Society. It will continue to oppose turbines across the downs if they are inappropriate in scale or location.
The planning application was granted permission in July 2008 by the then Secretary of State, Hazel Blears, following an inquiry in February and March. The decision was criticised by countryside organisations for failing to appreciate the importance of the South Downs landscape which has subsequently been confirmed as a National Park
