Bournemouth Liberal Democrats

Wind Power Debate Reduced To Chinese Whispers By Tories

It was quite bizarre in late January to see a Bournemouth Tory councillor using figures allegedly from a Scottish tourist report. The message seemed designed to spread worry and alarm about the off-shore wind farm development proposed off the Purbeck coast.

The councillor in question is cliff-top resident Cllr Mike Greene who had attended a tourism meet on 24 January and apparently came away with 'news' of research carried out by the Scottish tourist board.

"That was talking about a 2.5 per cent drop in tourism," Greene told the Daily Echo who duly reported it. "I believe that was the percentage of people who would not go back because of the presence of the windfarm."

With such a deep understanding of this Scottish report, Cllr Greene would soon be meeting with local Tory MPs and it looked as though he would be telling them the all bad news about the nasty wind farm development. Although local Tory MPs have been pretty vocal about this development, the 4 February Daily Echo report of the meeting told of Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood's fears over wind farm noise and height having 'been tempered' after a visit to Blackpool to see an off-shore wind farm there.

Ellwood said: "I was with some (Blackpool) councillors and I asked if there was a fuss. They said 'you would not believe it'. I said 'what about now?'. They said 'absolutely nothing whatsoever'."

Strangely appended to this Daily Echo report (print version only) was an info box with Bournemouth's chief tourism officer Mark Smith repeating the 'Cllr Greene' message. Allegedly the Scottish research showed this wind farm development would cost 500 lost tourist jobs as 2-3% of visitors would not return to an area with a wind farm.

The Chinese whisper soon got through to Tobias Ellwood MP. By 6 February Ellwood was reported saying these 500 lost tourism jobs would provide a strong argument against the wind farm development and by the 15 February Smith's message had become the accepted reply quoted against the wind farm company's announcements.

It took a while to gain confirmation about the identity of this much-quote Scottish report, although it was always pretty certain which it was. It was a 2008 Scottish government report and far from talking of job losses, it says you'll hardily notice any difference in visitor numbers.

It does use the 2.5% figure (more accurately 2.54%) but it highlights this solely to point out that this one result from one part of one of the surveys in the report is at variance to all its other findings. A more representative figure from the report would be based on those tourists who actually saw the Scottish wind farms for real and who were asked if that experience would affect their return to the area. That figure is a lot different to the nonsense 2.54% figure. It is 0.08%.

Cllr Greene continues his far-from-informative personal tirade against this wind farm development. He told Daily Echo readers on 18 February that the wind farm will be "a huge blot on the seascape." and said that "...I would like to see people getting value for money in terms of tax and energy bills. Wind farms are about ten times as inefficient as nuclear power and not particularly carbon efficient."

Where Cllr Greene gleaned these particular pearls of wisdom is as yet unknown. Given his fears about the noise from these distant wind turbines, he maybe overheard this with his super-sensitive hearing.

So perhaps Cllr Greene would not be persuaded by say a hypothetical proposal to build the biggest wind turbine of the lot, not 10.2 miles off Bournemouth pier, but on the end of the pier itself. Complete with viewing platforms for visitors, would not such a value-for-money idea rival Blackpool's ageing and expensive tower as a magnet for tourists?. But then it would likely be too noisy for Cllr Greene. Given his ability to hear the impossible, the end of the pier may be close enough to his home for the noise levels to drown the din of the waves crashing on the beach below his house.

Dr Martin Rodger

February 2012..

What is the Navitus Bay Wind Park?

The Navitus Bay Wind Park is a proposed 1,200 megawatt wind farm that will be operated by Eneco, which would be located 10.2 miles South East of Bournemouth, the project is considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP). The project would supply between 615,000 to 820,000 homes with clean renewable energy and bring the UK closer to meeting its international commitments to reduce carbon emissions.[1]

Eneco is a Dutch company headquartered in Rotterdam, the company specialised in the production, trading, transmission and supply of gas, electricity and heat and related services to over 2 million customers in the Netherlands. Eneco is increasingly aiming for strategic international expansion in Belgium, the UK, Germany and France.[2]

The Wind farm would comprise of approximately 300 three bladed wind turbines with a rotor diameter between 90 - 176 metres[3] and a generating capacity ranging from 3.6 - 9 MW. Eneco is currently in a process of consultation with the public to determine the specific size and location of the wind turbines, details of the consultations available here.[1]

In preparation for the project Eneco has put applied for planning permission for a meteorological mast which will collect data about the weather and wind for the wind park. Project director Chris Sherrington said: "If a marine licence is granted then we will seek to minimise any impacts that the mast could have on the local area." If approved, construction of the mast is scheduled to begin in July 2012 and will take one month.[4]

The council's principal planning officer Steve Davies will update planning board members on the scheme on Monday night (20^th Feb). If the application process goes ahead the park is expected open in 2019[2]

When Will Public Consultations Begin?

Eneco has now entered the formal consultation period for the project and will be holding eight public exhibitions at Swanage, Poole, Bournemouth,Christchurch, West Moors, New Milton, Lymington and the Isle of Wight to provide people with information and updates onNavitusBay, along with the next steps. There will also be an opportunity to speak with a member of the development team and provide feedback on the proposals.

The public exhibitions will be held at the following venues and times from Tuesday 21^st February to Saturday 3^rd March 2012:

• Swanage: Mowlem Theatre - Tuesday 21^st February 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• Poole: RNLILifeboatCollege- Wednesday 22^nd February 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• Christchurch: ChristchurchBorough Council Chambers - Thursday 23^rd February 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• Bournemouth: Pavilion Theatre - Saturday 25^th February 2012, 10am to 4pm
• West Moors: West Moors Memorial Hall - Tuesday 28^th February 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• New Milton: New Milton Memorial Centre - Wednesday 29^th February 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• Lymington: Lymington Community Centre - Friday 2^nd March 2012, 2pm to 8pm
• Newport, Isle of Wight: RiversideCentre - Saturday 3^rd March 2012, 10 am to 4pm

The final design of Navitus Bay Wind Park, both onshore and offshore, will be determined only after comprehensive consultation with the public and relevant organisations throughout the formal consultation period of the project which will last until the end of 2013.

How do Wind Farms Affect Tourism?

Studies of Impact of Wind Farms:

'A Study into the Attitudes of Visitors, Tourists and Tourism Organisations towards Wind Farms on the Boundaries of the Lake District National Park', for Friends of the Lake District (FLD), October 2003:

• 87% of visitors/tourists and 88% of tourism organisations felt positive towards wind farms.
• 75% said that increases in the number of turbines in the next few years would not have any effect on them visiting in the future.

'Investigation into the Potential Impact of Wind Farms on Tourism in Wales', NFO World Group, October 2003

• 68% of respondents said that if the number of wind farms increased in Wales it would make no difference to the likelihood they would take holidays in the Welsh countryside.
• A further 9% said any impact would be negligible
• Only 2% said they would be 'less likely to come back'.

Lambrigg Residents Survey, RBA Research, April 2002

• 71% thought that the Lambrigg Wind Farm has had no effect on the number of people visiting the area.
• 14% said they don't know what the impact has been.
• More than one in ten (11%) believed that the number of visitors to the area has increased, while fewer than one in twenty
• Just 3% thought that visitor numbers have decreased.
• 74% said they support the wind farm.
• Only 8% are in opposition to the wind farm.

Tourist Attitudes Toward Wind Farms, MORI Summary Report, September 2002

• 43% of respondents said a wind farm meant they were more likely to visit the Argyll area, an area of high landscape value. About the same proportion of respondents said it would make no difference.
• Less than 8% thought they would be less likely to visit.
• Nine out of ten tourists visiting some of Scotland's top beauty spots said the presence of wind farms makes no difference to the enjoyment of their holiday. Twice as many respondents would return to an area because of the presence of a wind farm than the number that would stay away.
• 91% of visitors interviewed said that the presence of a wind farm would not influence their decision to return to the area.
• 55% of those who had seen a wind farm felt their impact was either generally or completely positive.
• Only 8% felt it was negative.

University of the West of England report: Fullabrook Wind Farm Proposal - evidence gathering of the impact of wind farms on visitor numbers and tourist experience

• The vast majority of tourists surveyed in North Devon (87%) stated that the presence of a wind farm would neither encourage nor discourage them from visiting.
• Of the remaining 13%, slightly more would be encouraged to visit because of the presence of a wind farm.
• 93.9% of those surveyed said that they would not be discouraged from visiting the area by the presence of a wind farm.