Third wind farm plan is announced for Warwickshire

This week TCI Renewables invited people to a public exhibition in Priors Marston to learn about its plans to build six turbines on the Shuckburgh Estate near Napton.

The news comes a few months after Broadview Energy was granted approval to put up a wind mast on land near Bishops Itchington. EDF Energy has also earmarked an area in nearby Wormleighton for a wind farms.

TCI says its project, called Beacon Hill Wind Farm, if approved would generate between 12MW and 18MW of electricity for thousands of homes in the area and could set aside up to £37,500 a year for a community fund to be spent according to residents’ wishes.

Project manager Danny Maher said: “This site has a good wind resouce and is set back from properties in the area. The scheme itself will generate clean and green electricity for several thousand homes.

“Everybody will have a concern about anything that’s new and different. We would like to address and answer any questions that people might have as we go forward.”

Company director Bruce Hutt said: “There is an enormous requirement for renewable energy both to meet local and Government targets, as well as to help ensure security of our energy supply into the future.

“We are still at an early stage in the development process but confident that this is an excellent site and we would like to hear the views of others.”

But MP Jeremy Wright (pictured left), whose Kenilworth and Southam constituency includes all three sites, is supporting villagers who have opposed previous wind farm projects in the area.

The Conservative MP said: “At this stage the application is just for a wind measuring mast, so it is quite hard to object to on planning grounds, but my belief is that it will be the thin end of the wedge, and that wedge could result in a swathe of wind farms all the way down this beautiful vale.”

Mr Wright intends to object to TCI’s application to Stratford District Council to set up a mast to measure wind speeds on the Shuckburgh Estate. Anyone else wishing to comment on the proposal should visit www.stratford.gov.uk or call 01789 267575. To find out more about the project, visit www.beaconhillwindfarm.com