Residents at Davidstow on the north flank of Bodmin Moor are very unhappy about the latest wind farm proposal for Cornwall. When it comes to windswept acres North Cornwall has more than most areas I guess so naturally wind turbine companies look on it very favourably. Now there is a plan for another windfarm this time at the woodland location near the old airfield.
I've blogged in the past about my reservations concerning onshore wind farms (See here). This suggestion for Davidstow is for the new generation of tall turbines (to put this in perspective 3 times the height of Exeter Cathedral!) whereas up until now the much smaller first generation turbines have been built in Cornwall. The company behind this latest scheme have cheekily called their proposal "Davidstow Community Windfarm" I believe thus suggesting that the local residents are enthusiasts for it! And because that part of Bodmin Moor is a mix of disused airfield and forestry they consider it to be a brownfield site! Now in all honesty this isn't the most stunningly beautiful part of the county but its proximity to Brown Willy, Cornwall's highest peak, and that it's not that far from the wild North Cornwall coast means that the wind farm will be dominating the views from some of the most special parts of Cornwall.
Another factor regarding the proposed site is that it is a very significant winter roost for starlings - I must go and witness this myself one of these days. Local authorities are in a bind in Devon and Cornwall: I could advance arguments against the location of any new proposals in the two counties but it's obvious that if a developer goes to appeal some will get through as happened at Fullabrook Down near Ilfracombe.
This government will push through more and more windfarms and they will increasingly be of the much larger turbines.
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