The Archbishop of Canterbury is being dragged into a wind farm row as
permission is sought for 37 turbines in a woodland owned by the Church of
England just north of the Border.
The development is planned by energy giant RES for Dykeraw Forest south
Chesters village, near Hawick.
Twenty nine of the turbines, which would be up to 150ft high to blade tip,
are planned for that part of the woodland owned by the Church of England
Commissioners in their portfolio of investments. The remaining eight would
be on a local farmer’s land.
An earlier proposal for six turbines in Devon on Church of England land was
withdrawn in the face of parishioners’ concerns. Philip Kerr, vice-chairman
of Southdean Community Council, has already contacted the Archbishop of
Canterbury’s office at Lambeth Palace over local concerns.
He said: “The community council was, and still is, looking for someone from
the Church of England to come and justify the reasoning behind the
development to the community as a whole. Surely if the church is getting
involved it would be as part of a community led scheme, not led by a
developer.”
A spokeswoman for the church commissioners was reported as saying they
“supported development across the UK that provided needed infrastructure,
be it for energy, housing, transport”.
The developers said it could bring in £13.8m in community benefits while
those closest to it would get discounted power.
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