21/11/12 Planning committee decision

Great news! Camarthen Council planning committee decided yesterday afternoon to turn down the application to build a 21 turbine right on the top of Mynydd Llanllwni. The vote was 10 to 4 against, agreeing with the council officers that the application was against a number of policies outlined in the Local Development plan. And this fact outweighed any possible benefit to the public of producing wind based energy. It was also pointed out that there was plenty of space in another part of the Strategic Search area (laid down by the Welsh Government's TAN8) for such a wind farm that wouldn't be so intrusive and with a lesser impact on the local community. About a dozen people from the local area spoke out against the application, including yours truly as shown in my last blog, and 3 people spoke out for the developer, including the farmer who owns Bryn Llywelyn. From the councilors there were 2 who spoke against the proposal and 3 who asked some questions. There was no real debate and very quickly the event was over.
There were huge cheers from the visitors in the balcony where there were a large number of our supporters and there were scenes of jubilation that 2 years hard work had paid off. The process had good coverage from the local media, including TV and press who expressed surprised that there was almost no local support for this attack on our way and quality of life. Now we have to wait and see if RES go to an appeal with the Welsh Government and RES have 6 months to decide. If that happens, they will be taking on the local authority but the latter will have our full support and I say "BRING IT ON!!!

21/11/12 Speech at planning committee meeting

PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING 20/11/12

 My name is Ted Razzell and i've been in Llanllwni since 1971. I want to put it to the committee that RES information, concerning the impact of sound levels on the local community, is unreliable and misleading. I've heard from neighbours suffering from noise problems, produced by the existing  nearby wind farm called Alltwalis.  So I'm concerned about the possible repeat of the problem from this application, and I've looked into the sound issue to see what was behind it. // A process called ETSU 97 R has been used here to determine where turbines may be placed to produce acceptable levels of sound at the homes of local people. Local background noise was measured and set against turbine noise to produce a residual extra noise. Getting an accurate measure of ambient noise raises problems, especially in a very tranquil place like Llanllwni but I don't have time to explore these issues. Instead I will look at how turbine noise is measured. Close up, very little noise can be perceived at ground level but, at blade level, it's another question. // Air turbulence here creates both audible & inaudible sound with a pulsating low frequency noise. ETSU doesn't allow for low frequency noise to be considered when measuring total turbine noise, since it isn't thought to be a serious nuisance and is therefore discounted. However, a considerable amount of empirical research has been carried out in the last few years, in response to many neurological complaints from people living near wind farms. In 1996, when ETSU was designed to offset complaints, there was very limited knowledge about  the impact of low frequency sound, and turbines were much smaller. It is now found from evidence gathered globally that, in fact, LF noise can cause many neurological difficulties, such as insomnia, depression, migraine, vertigo and loss of concentration. This situation has been recognized by the prestigious British Medical Journal which calls for urgent independent research and the WHO which is concerned about human rights on this issue. Also,  I was particularly impressed by the work of Dr Amanda Harry, a neurological expert, who explained in depth the pathology of sound related illness. Equally worrying is the fact that low frequency sound can be heard over large distances and can penetrate house walls which raises even more serious issues about the ETSU process. In fact, some British researchers have labelled this process as "not fit for purpose". // To sum up then, I suggest that, given all the available evidence, it is unwise to accept assurances about sound levels and their impact on people's lives. So, this application should be turned down to ensure that the health of even more local residents isn't put at risk!      

14/11/12 Carmarthen Officers Recommendation

Good news today - Council Officers have recommended to the planning committee to reject the application by RES to build  21 giant wind turbines on the top of Llanllwni Mountain. All that remains is to convince local councilors to agree, given the enormous strength of local opposition. I will be speaking at next Tuesday's committee meeting about the amazing amount of research evidence that exposure to wind turbines' low frequency noise can cause severe neurological problems. Let's hope the members will take this issue responsibly. For any one interested in looking at the issue, I recommend reading Dr. Amanda Harry, 2007 "Wind Turbines and Health".
Ted Razzell  

09/11/12 letter sent to Carmarthen Journal

Dear Editor,

On this coming Tuesday 20th, Carmarthen Council will make a decision on the proposed wind farm at Bryn Llywelyn. These 21 giant turbines will have a serious impact on the quality of life and well being of local residents. If you wanted to have  the maximum negative impact on the local environment then you couldn't choose a better place than the summit of Mynydd Llanllwni since this wind farm will be visible for up to 30 miles in nearly all directions. Not only will there be noise problems, which I wrote about recently, but also safety  and hydrology issues as well as a bad impact on tourism.

 However, I would like to draw attention to an even bigger problem. If developers can get away with placing this scale of wind farm in such a prominent place, then this precedent will make it difficult to oppose other wind farms on this mountain complex. Already we are waiting with some trepidation for a decision on the neighbouring , even larger wind farm application known as Brechfa West.  Since the decision will be made early next year by the UK Energy Secretary, we can't expect much sympathy from that quarter.  This is the man who stated recently that wind turbines are between 80 to 85% efficient and that low frequency sound does not cause health problems. Perhaps he is just misinformed!

So we face the prospect of turning this mountain complex from an agricultural / recreational zone into an industrial zone and its impact on local people and wildlife doesn't bear thinking about. Local property prices will fall and some houses will become unsaleable. There is already talk of people simply abandoning their properties, as happened to a couple in Lincolnshire recently. We residents in this area can only hope that local councillors will take good note of these problems and put the interests of local people before the dictates of Welsh and Central Government.

Yours truly,

Ted Razzell

I hope this letter will be published on Wednesday 14th  i.e. before the committee meeting on the 20th! 

09/11/12 Planning meeting on 20 November in Carmarthen

I will be allowed to speak to the planning committee at this meeting for 2 minutes - shame it couldn't be for longer! I could speak for 2 hours on my subject of the failings of ETSU i.e. why this system does not deal with questions of public health caused by wind turbine noise. I'll publish later the speech I hope to make.
Ted Razzell

01/11/12 Planning committee meeting on 20/11/12

Carmarthen council's planning committee will meet on November 20th to decide about the RES application to site 21 giant wind turbines on Mynydd Llanllwni. The council have decided that 6 people who asked for permission to speak at the relevant meeting on the 20th have been granted this privilege, including myself. So if you have any new points to make to the council, please email me on ted.razzell@gmail.com. Meanwhile all 6 people will have to meet and decide who covers various matters of concern to avoid duplication of effort.