Daydream thread... without the rose-tinted specs

Better_Days

Thanks CTC, It's me and IHS :A for your thoughts on windfarms. I did have a quick look on the House Buying and Selling board but discussions tend to end up accusing the 'concerns about wind farm folks' as NIMBY's.

I'm fairly neutral about one turbine 1km away, but my worry is that it will set a precedent and we will end up with something like IHS has posted in Whitelee. It appears that this farmer is determined to get his turbine - this is his fourth application - it must be financially lucrative. There are already quite a few turbines nearby in the Eye/Scole area. And that would affect the value of the property. There is a possibility that the top of the turbine could be seen from the garden and the upstairs windows. But then there is also is noise which worries me more. There are so many variables.

And as CTC rightly points out - resale has to be considered, especially as we are not planning on staying long. The vendor declared it on the Property Information Form which I saw for the first time today. I have emailed the surveyor to see what he thinks re impact on the value of the property and am waiting to hear back from the LA as to when they are likely to make a decision.

I feel we are between a rock and a hard place. This was never a 'forever' property and now there is the windfarm issue. But otoh we are struggling to afford rented, house prices are rising around here (and will probably do so more with HTB being brought forward) and I don't think I can face traipsing around properties again. Dam and blast :mad::mad:

Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Rummer's book and run a bubble bath!

On the plus side, I spoke to my SIL earlier and she and my brother have made up, thank goodness for that :D:D

Davesnave

A mile is a decent distance from a turbine, but much depends upon prevailing winds and what the view is in that direction to start with. It's also relevant whether any more might be applied-for or built within a shorter distance.

Here, the nearest turbine is about 2.5km away from us, but there's a huge barn blocking most of our view in that direction, and as it's over the ridge, we can just see the blades as they break the skyline (if we stand in the road!) So, it has no impact on us whatever.

The church tower is about 1.5km away as the crow flies. If it was a wind turbine, we'd probably not hear it, as we can only hear the bells when the wind is in the right direction. Again, it would have very little visual impact, thanks to a neighbour's windbreak beech hedge.

EDIT: I see BD has replied while I've been measuring on my map!

My advice is to find out what the farmer wants the turbine for and to estimate how many similarly placed farms there are in the area. In our neck of the woods, a few (three, I think) dairy farmers have, or have applied for, turbines of varying sizes. They use a lot of power milking, heating water and refrigerating etc, but whatever is left over is exported to the grid. I doubt if each farm will ever have more than one unless they prove very much more reliable than is often the case.

Looking at the map/aerial view, I can see a couple of other farms that might 'go turbine' but there really aren't that many within view and only one within earshot.

I think this sort of rough and ready assessment is the best that can be done. I also appreciate that it might be harder elsewhere, as the rolling hills and deep valleys here limit sites to specific places.

Rummer

Better_Days wrote: »

Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Rummer's book and run a bubble bath!

I may have just had another

lostinrates

The sight of it wouldn't bother me one bit tbh. Personally i find them beautiful. And cut down on other neighbours The sound otoh.......that would make the move a no no for me.

alfie_1

Rummer wrote: »

I may have just had another

i think "our" rummlet will be a tadpole !!;)

Rummer

I am really curious now about Rozees news, it sounds exciting!

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

The sight of it wouldn't bother me one bit tbh. Personally i find them beautiful. And cut down on other neighbours The sound otoh.......that would make the move a no no for me.

I wonder what horses & animals make of them
I know they cause the death of birds & bats but I wonder if animals all think they've developed some weird form of tinnitus?

lostinrates

Itismehonest wrote: »

I wonder what horses & animals make of them
I know they cause the death of birds & bats but I wonder if animals all think they've developed some weird form of tinnitus?

There are proposals near here ( unlikely o get through because of an area specific reason) and horse breeders are up in arms.

Personally, apart for the stress of an ongoing noise , which I think is terrible for any species I. Any situation, I think they are a training aid. Just like a field near a busy road and a train line is useful for young stock.

To live with long term, no, not nice, but to become calm about....useful.

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

There are proposals near here ( unlikely o get through because of an area specific reason) and horse breeders are up in arms.

Personally, apart for the stress of an ongoing noise , which I think is terrible for any species I. Any situation, I think they are a training aid. Just like a field near a busy road and a train line is useful for young stock.

To live with long term, no, not nice, but to become calm about....useful.

I'd gone off googling to see if there was anything about it online.
I came up with pages that say the vibration causes bone deformity so, who knows?
Much too scientific for my poor brain :rotfl:

Better_Days

Dave, many thanks for your thoughts on the windfarm issue and for your experience of how noisy your turbine is 2.5km away and the church bells 1.5 km away. This one would be about 1km (a bit less than a mile) and I suspect there would be some noise, especially if the wind was in the right direction. But very hard to say for sure what the impact would be until the thing was up and running.

I don't think it would have much visual impact for the property itself. But it is pretty as you drive into the village (even has a duck pond) and it would certainly affect the visual amenity. This property http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40521593.html is more directly affected by the planning application which was lodged after the purchaser exchanged and before they completed. AP £750k - ouch.

Lots of objections locally, 247 comments lodged by the LA most are objections: http://planningpages.midsuffolk.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_MSUFF_DCAPR_94724

The farms round here are nearly all arable (although there is a free range chicken farm where we currently buy our eggs from ) and looking at google maps, this one appears to be arable too. Earlier applications were for 2 turbines and bigger ones at that, and those were rejected. So perhaps this may be an indication that the LA won't accept more turbines.

The farmer seems to be doing this as a money making exercise rather than to generate power for the farm. Umm, not sure who owns what land around there - what would be the best way of finding out?

Itismehonest - it is very 'horsey' round here (and not far from Newmarket) and quite a few of the objections mention the proximity of the proposed turbine to bridleways and the hundred lanes network, along with the negative impact on bats and ancient hedgerows etc.