Windfarm in green belt area – a step closer?

We have learnt that North Shropshire District Council officers will be recommending approval of an application to erect a temporary meteorological mast at Lower Farm, Bearstone Road, Norton in Hales. This is just the first step in a bid to build a windfarm and populate a greenfield site between Dorrington, Knighton and Bearstone and close to Woore with up to 15 one hundred metre high turbines.

As reported on Audlem Online last November, Audlem Parish Councillors heard from the Knighton/Dorrington Windfarm Action Group that "if these plans were to go ahead the whole character of the area would be damaged with an irreversible impact on landscape, footpaths and bridleways, wildlife and communities alike. The giant turbines would greatly affect people's quality of life, with noise pollution disrupting sleep patterns, and the visual pollution would be visible over the 3 counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. They also pointed out that property prices in areas that have been developed in this way have dropped by up to 30%. And finally ... they maintained that it was questionable whether windfarms were an efficient way of producing electricity anyway." See Country Guardian (The website link that was here no longer works)

In spite of these arguments NSDC are still prepared to go ahead. The planning meeting to discuss the application for the temporary meteorological mast at Lower Farm, Bearstone Road, Norton in Hales is being held on Wednesday 21st February at 2.00 pm in The Auditorium, Festival Drayton Centre, Frogmore Road, Market Drayton . If you're not happy with what is being proposed do go along to register your views and support the Knighton/Dorrington Windfarm Action Group (now known as "Vortex").

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