Angry residents unleashed their wrath upon a businessman who has proposed building a 67 metre high wind turbine on farmland.
There was a heated debate when villagers met with Charles Williamson, who wants to put the £1million turbine on Highlander Farm, in Wheatcroft.
Speaking on behalf of Mr Williamson, consultant planner Jonathan Jenkin said: “The turbine is 55 per cent the size of the turbines proposed for Matlock Moor - it’s called a medium sized turbine.”
Wheatcroft resident David Gregan pointed out: “It’s three times the size of Crich Stand.”
The concerned villager went on to say that a recent report by the Valuation Office Agency stated the average price of homes close to wind turbines goes down by between ten and 40 per cent.
Mr Williamson displayed images to residents of how the wind turbine would look from different viewpoints in the area as proposed by Amber Valley Borough Council.
“What we’re doing here is being completely transparent,” he stated.
Resident David Muscroft, who has been gathering support to fight the wind turbine proposal, described the pictures as not being ‘representative’ of what would be seen due to the angle at which if they were shown from.
Others expressed their concern that the wind turbine would be a blott on the landscape, taking away from the view of Crich Stand, which can be seen from several counties.
Mr Jenkin said they would be paying for reports to be written concerning the impact the turbine would have on both noise and wildlife in the area.
John Steppings, a Crich parish councillor who lives in Wheatcroft, said: “Amber Valley Borough Council has not got a policy in place on wind turbines.
“If we have got no policy what’s to stop other people from building them.”
Mr Williamson expects to enter a planning application for the turbine to the borough council within the next couple of months. If the project succeeds he will consider building more turbines in the area.
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