Windfarm turbine noise will 'force closure of business'
NEARLY 40 jobs at a Holsworthy yoga centre could be lost if plans for a neighbouring wind farm go ahead.
The British School of Yoga, which chose the site at Dunsland Cross because of its tranquility, says the calm of the centre will be shattered and it may be forced to move.
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NOISE WORRY: Ann Williams, principal of the British School of Yoga at a reflexology class. Picture: Ian Snell
Bolsterstone Plc, a North Midlands-based property development and investment company, wants to put up four 105 metre wind turbines just off the junction of the A3079 and A3072 — little more than 400m away from the yoga school at the former Dunsland Cross railway station.
Major development plans for the school, which included turning it into a holistic centre and providing a boost to the local economy, are now on hold.
Proprietor Philip Laniado said: "Our tranquil and attractive location in the Ruby Country for this business was very carefully selected.
"The damaging impact that this turbine development would undoubtedly have will probably lead to us closing this office and moving out of Devon, resulting in up to 38 job losses directly and countless others indirectly."
He added: "The developer's own noise readings indicate that the estimated noise levels on my property would be 43 decibels. As the limit is 43 decibels there is no margin for error.
"I therefore have concerns about the health implications for my staff who would be in such close proximity."
Torridge District Council has received more than 200 representations on the proposal, including a 311-page objection report by the Dunsland Turbines Opposition Group.
The report claims the noise assessment is seriously flawed and inaccurate and 30 points for refusal under current policies were identified.
BSY principal, Ann Williams, who lives at Dunsland Cross, said: "The proposed development has changed everything and no further investment (in the school) is likely to take place until the outcome is known with certainty.
"A development of this scale crammed into a relatively small field area next to us, creating a massive visual and noise impact with all the adverse health implications related to sleep disturbance etc, would make it impossible."
Bolsterstone says many businesses operate with wind turbines adjacent to their premises, not several hundred meters away as in the case of the yoga school and it has not heard of any instances of lost jobs due to noise issues.
A spokesman said: "It is likely that a property 30 to 40m away from an A road as in this case (as opposed to 100m from it as per the indication), will already experience far higher levels of noise, not from a single lorry or car, but from a constant passage of them, than anything that they will experience from a wind farm some several hundred metres away, especially when there is considerable shielding from a belt of forestry between the turbines and the premises."
Torridge District Council's plans committee is due to discuss the application next week.
5 Comments
by Pat, Oxford
Monday, June 01 2009, 6:38PM
“As a new student at BSY I will be looking forward to practical training at the school. Complementary and holistic therapies often involve some form of meditation and personally I find extraneous noise intrusive and it can prevent my meditation. Spiritual well being is as important as physical and mental health and i can understand Ms Williams concerns re the long term impact a wind farm could have on her tranquil site, She needs no "free" advertising as the school has been established and accredited for many years. I do hope these proposals are looked again very carefully and objectively.”
by David, Chilla
Friday, May 22 2009, 7:21PM
“Dear Ms Scott,
Wind turbines are the biggest fiasco since the Millennium Dome and MP's expenses. Perhaps you ought to do some more research into the health issues, then come back here to comment.”
by Kenneth Wallace, lincs fenland
Thursday, March 12 2009, 12:01PM
“This is going to help your local economy no end if this wind farm is to go ahead, I for one will be looking for somewhere that is not in sight of any wind turbines in Devon or anywhere else for that matter (easy with Google Earth).
Blots on the landscape that do not work.”
by Fair play, UK
Saturday, March 07 2009, 12:44AM
“Ms Scott - there seem to be plenty of things you "do not understand", including common courtesy. It is so rude to gratuitously criticize another person's opinion when you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. She is entitled to her opinion which she has correctly submitted along with other members of the public. But to personally attack her - what's in it for you? Perhaps it is you who seeks publicity.”
by MRS SCOTT, SUTCOMBE
Thursday, March 05 2009, 10:47AM
“I just cannot understand this point of view that this lady has. She is the head of an holistic company and yet is against an environmentally friendly source of power .
Would she rather have a power station built next to her that belches out acrid smoke and fumes all the time?
Wind turbines are not noisy, they give off a faint hum and ho on earth can they be a danger to her staffs health?
I do not understand this negative reaction people have to wind turbines. I could understand if we were having a nuclear reactor being built then I would be the first in the queue to object. I think maybe this lady is being rather over dramatic and was seeking some free publicity to promote her company. This could be seen as a positive way of promoting her company and she should use it as such.”