Machrihanish Offshore Windfarm

[bud]

Personally I think a few wind turbines off the coast would be more agreeable than a coal mine must have been,with all the resulting dirt and traffic,right on Machrihanish's doorstep.

Problem being Bill - it's not a "few" - it's ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE!!

bill, what planet do you live on

every1 knows the idea is stupid

[Ags]

A facebook page has been set up at http://facebook.com/pages/SAY-NO-TO-MAC ... 1553301756

[ultraviolet]

The URLs for the consultation and related docs are here:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc ... 098585.pdf

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications ... 14155137/1

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc ... 098715.pdf

Thanks for the links. Not sure what I have to do however? There is the Respondant Information Form but where do you add your objections? Do you have to do this on a separate piece of paper? How do you submit this e-mail? Sorry, I am a thicko when i comes to computers but any help is appreciated!!

Where can we find out more information about the actual proposals? Are they online?

I didn't attend the meeting but the Gauldrons is my favourite place in the whole world and I would hate to think what it would look like with 105 wind turbines off of it!!!

[Ags]

Ultraviolet - What i'd do is print off the respondent information sheet, complete that and on a seperate sheet compose a letter with your comments, a short one paragraph letter will do, then send it by post to the the address Ninja has posted on the previous page.

[jowett63]

A Facebook page has now been opened as a focus for people in the community who are opposed to this development:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 1553301756

It has the official map showing the 70mile square area (not the tiny are a coal mine takes up!!) that will be populated by these 105 towers standing 400 feet high and how outrageously close inshore they will be - truly horrifying when you couple their size, number and proximity to shore. Please take a look so you can understand the magnitude of the tragedy the power company and Government is about to visit on West Argyll.

There is no technological reason that these generators cannot be 10-30 miles offshore...and hugely reduce the environmental impact. It is simply because it would cost them more to do that. What they are saying in effect is that the people of Kintyre should bear the cost of this inshore development rather than putting it further offshore and asking all 400000 (alleged) households who will benefit from it to pay a coupla pence a unit more for the leccy it will generate.

Yes to reducing CO2 through sustainable wind generation but not at any price and certainly not by inflicting socio economic and ecological catastrophe on one community of immense beauty and biological diversity when there are viable alternatives.

I heard that Moyle Council across in Antrim are discussing the SSE Plans at their council meeting next week and agreeing their response to the plans. People are slowly mobilising as the scale of the blight this development will cause is becoming apparent.

[Ninja Mania]

Ultraviolet, a personal hand written letter stating your objections to the windfarm, will carry as much clout if not more, than the downloaded form.
The point being is, that everyone needs to send something no matter what, it will volume of numbers that may, just may swing this ludrious idea in our favour.

Dont just send one letter, send hunners lol

[Ags]

Ultraviolet, a personal hand written letter stating your objections to the windfarm, will carry as much clout if not more, than the downloaded form.
The point being is, that everyone needs to send something no matter what, it will volume of numbers that may, just may swing this ludrious idea in our favour.

Dont just send one letter, send hunners lol

Ninja it states on the form that it (the form) MUST be returned with your response to ensure the response is handled appropriately. The form is just for your name, address, contact details etc and whether you wish your comments i.e your written response made available to the public or kept confidential. People can still download hunners of forms

[A15 NMA]

I really think the community should be looking into what benefits/incentives are available from the developers rather than trying to oppose (unlikely) it at such an early stage. Looking at the bigger picture, Campbeltown cannot afford to let a project of this scale slip through the net. The development/construction phase of this project alone will bring more economic benefit to the area than tourism will for the next 25yrs....

[Stone Cold aka Doags Bs]

I really think the community should be looking into what benefits/incentives are available from the developers rather than trying to oppose (unlikely) it at such an early stage. Looking at the bigger picture, Campbeltown cannot afford to let a project of this scale slip through the net. The development/construction phase of this project alone will bring more economic benefit to the area than tourism will for the next 25yrs....

I was saying this earlier to someone. The community should be looking to strike a deal with SSE to aid the future of the town, and see some life being brought back to the area.

[Ninja Mania]

The objections are not about the windfarm, just where they want to situate it. 3k off shore from Machrihanish bay. Come on....
Niel, this is a forum, if you have something to say on this subject please post it. If there are any possitive's about having a windfarm so close to shore, I for one would like to hear them.

[Mack]

Dear A15 NMA,

What economic benefits will a huge wind farm bring to the area? And, if there are any other than short term, this will be outweighed by the loss of existing tourist revenue. Think about it - Machrihanish Golf Club and Machrihanish Dunes cannot survive without the golf tourism, and, it is the wild beauty of the setting that attracts these people. They can get world class courses nearer to the central belt, so it must be the attraction of a wonderful location that brings them so far off the beaten track.

The loss of golf tourists will also hit hotels, caravan sites and b&bs throughout Kintyre. Then there is the surfer. The construction of off-shore windfarms affects wave swell - proven fact! What is 105 turbines going to do to the Machrihanish surf - eradicate it! No swell - no surfing! Then there is the general tourist who comes for the wonderful seaside location, the marine life and the unmatched rural tranquility - change this and we lose them as well!

Add to this the plight of the Machrihanish residents - the visual impact, noise pollution etc. Disruption to the natural world - seabirds, fish, dolphins seals etc. All fact when faced with turbines and undersea electric grid systems.

Do you think having an off-shore windfarm is worth losing all of this?

I certainly don't!

[Ship called Dignity]

I think it is absolutely crucial to the whole campaign that all these views and thoughts are heard - it makes for a wonderful debate but also allows any campaign group look at the other arguments and take steps to counter argue these.

Just to show the scale of what is planned you can see below the proposals. The first diagram shows how far away the turbines will be visible - that is the yellow area and at that you can see over 79!

Look at the second diagram and see the size of the proposal. It is like taking the windfarm and covering the WHOLE of Campbeltown and all the way round the learside down to Southend (and further west) and all the way back into Campbeltown again with wind turbines!

[bill]

bill, what planet do you live on

every1 knows the idea is stupid

I was home last week in the town,and whenever I broached the subject of the proposed wind farm the reaction I got was one of indifference.As is usual in cases like this,I find it is a hardcore minority who run a campaign of protest.

[Stone Cold aka Doags Bs]

What economic benefits will a huge wind farm bring to the area?

Manufacturing, accomodation, employment of local personnel could and should all be raised at the meet and greet with SSE.

Where's the proof that of all these negative affects on the environment? I'm not saying that there will be no negative effects, but you have stated these are facts yet backed it up with no conclusive evidence?

I'm definitely not convinced about the noise pollution being a problem after visiting a number of wind farms.

[Ship called Dignity]

What economic benefits will a huge wind farm bring to the area?

Manufacturing, accomodation, employment of local personnel could and should all be raised at the meet and greet with SSE.

I was saying this earlier to someone. The community should be looking to strike a deal with SSE to aid the future of the town, and see some life being brought back to the area.

SC it isn't about Campbeltown. There is also something common sounding about striking a deal and selling your soul! Economic investment and development is all very well but it comes at a price. Something that is already noticeably changing the face of Campbeltown to how it was 20 years ago when we had the so called boom of the Base. (by the way, not doubting the potential economic benefit but...)

As for life, well there is plenty of life in this old town and area. It just depends how happy you are with the way it is.