Residents call for Chelker turbines to be scrapped

2:50pm Thursday 3rd July 2008

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Yorkshire Water was urged to scrap its £6 million plans for replacement giant wind turbines at Chelker Reservoir this week.

Company representatives told residents at a specially called meeting of Draughton Parish Council that the company's aim was to provide its own renewable energy for pumping stations at Chelker and Lobwood.

But residents argued that the new 410ft (125m) turbines were too high and added the company would eventually make £500,000 annual profit.

Ward councillor Robert Heseltine advised the parish council to object on environmental grounds and pressed Yorkshire Water to withdraw its application.

"This is a most beautiful part of Yorkshire. If there is somewhere more efficient somewhere else, Yorkshire Water as a moral company should be looking to invest there.

"I would ask Yorkshire Water to do the decent thing and withdraw their application," he said.

Richard Sears, Yorkshire Water's corporate affairs manager, told Monday's meeting that the company was the second largest user of electricity in the region with an annual electricity bill of £42 million.

He said the Government wanted to see more water treatment stations built and added Yorkshire Water had set its own target of achieving at least 10 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010.

"It is much cheaper for us to generate our own power than to buy it from the energy market and if we can provide our own energy, it will protect our customers from price increases," he said.

Mr Sears said that the two proposed turbines, which the company hoped would be in commission by March 2010, would provide 5mw of power and would be operational for 30 per cent of the time.

He added that the current four 137ft (42m) turbines had been built in the 1990s and were obsolete.

"Two are now out of commission and the other two are at the end of their life.

"We are the UK's most efficient water company and we want to maintain that position.

"The bottom line is it is cheaper for us to provide our own electricity than to buy it on the open market."

But residents argued that the replacement turbines similar in size to Blackpool Tower were too high, would blight property prices, would be noisy and cause road safety problems because of drivers slowing down to look at them.

Carolyn Whitaker, whose home was next to the Devonshire estate owned site, said her house was up for sale and claimed potential buyers had been put off by Yorkshire Water's plans.

"We have all spent a lot of money to live where we live and it seems that Yorkshire Water is able to come along and devastate our properties. It just doesn't seem right."

Resident Peter Rigby claimed that the company would recoup its £6 million outlay within six years and after that would make a profit.

And he pointed out that the company would be subsidised by the Government which was pushing the building of wind turbine projects.

"This project is a licence to print money, it is nothing to do with saving the planet," he said.

But Yorkshire Water's renewable projects manager Mike Ward stressed that the company was not interested in making a profit.

"The last thing I want is for people to go away thinking that we are doing this for commercial reasons. Our sole purpose is to reduce the amount of energy that we use on this site."

Draughton Parish Council is currently carrying out its own anonymous poll to find out what the village thinks about Yorkshire Water's proposals.

It expects to discuss the proposals at its next meeting on July 17 when it will put together its response to Craven District Council.