By Kenny Smith
Plans to erect a wind turbine in Cambuslang have been slammed by residents
living near the proposed site.
Last month, the Reformer revealed a proposal has been put forward by the
Healthy ‘n’ Happy Community Development Trust, with the intention of it
raising money for the benefit of the community.
But residents living near the site, at the Loanend Cottages near Flemington
Farm, say the proposed wind turbine, would disrupt their way of life.
All bar one of the residents in the cottages, as well as the nearby
Flemington Farm cottages, are united in their opposition to the proposal,
and two residents, Gordon Brownlie and Liisa Hepworth, speaking on behalf
of the others, met with the Reformer on Monday.
Liisa said: “We were slightly surprised when we read in the Reformer that
Healthy ‘n’ Happy were saying the turbine would be unobtrusive and not
visible, as it clearly will be, based on their plans. It will be 550m away
from us.
“It’s very clearly going to be seen, not only by us, but by people in
Uddingston, Blantyre and Halfway. It’s not going to be as big as the one in
Cathkin Braes, but it is still pretty significant.
“Healthy ‘n’ Happy and Green Cat Renewables put on a display in Halfway
Library, and we were quite shocked by the scale of it.
“It seems there’s very little regulation around the building of wind turbines.”
Gordon pointed out: “I don’t think Healthy ‘n’ Happy are aware this is a
conservation area, as, under the old Glasgow City Council, it was
identified as a conservation village.
“There are certain things we can’t do, because all the cottages must look
very similar, and we can’t go making changes.
“It seems very strange that someone now wants to go and put something into
a conservation area.”
Liisa also said: “This is a greenbelt area and by putting up a wind
turbine, that would be an industrial use that’s being proposed.
“This area has historical significance, with several historic buildings
nearby. It’s a special landscape area, with woodlands, and it’s also used
for leisure activities with cyclists and walkers, and the Ronhill
Cambuslang Harriers as well.
“There’s also a lot of wildlife in the area, as we’ve got three pairs of
buzzards, kestrels and red kites, while we also have many migratory birds,
such as swallows, while we also have big badger sets, foxes and bats.
“Wind turbines were responsible for killing more birds in 2014 than through
human persecution.”
The residents also fear that the erection of one turbine could lead to
more, and ultimately, a windfarm would be on their doorstep before they
know it.
They also say that the existing access road would be overused by large
vehicles, and would require a significantly larger number of journeys than
Healthy ‘n’ Happy are predicting, especially on a 5m wide road.
Residents also worry about noise pollution.
Liisa said: “Healthy ‘n’ Happy do great work in the area, and they say they
want to improve the health and wellbeing of the community.
“We are worried about the sound this will make, and there’s also the unseen
factor of infrasound, and there’s well-researched reports about physical
and mental wellbeing which can be disrupted by wind turbines.”
Gordon added: “It wouldn’t lead to the improvement of our health and
wellbeing, as it would be to our detriment, and we’re genuinely concerned.”
The wind turbine proposal is due to be discussed by Halfway Community
Council at their meeting tonight (Wednesday), in Park View School at 7pm.
Gordon said: “We’ve very supportive of the work that Healthy ‘n’ Happy do
as a charity, with some great work in Rutherglen and Cambuslang over the
years. We appreciate they are trying to create new income sources, but this
is not the right one.”
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