A man living near massive wind turbines at Bicker Fen is battling the Ministry of Defence so he can have a small one at his home.
Businessman Steve Rashleigh was told his turbine could interfere with onshore military radar by appearing as a helicopter on surveillance screens. Yet there are 13 wind turbines – which he claims are as “high as Boston Stump” – just 600 metres away from his North Drove home.
Mr Rashleigh (58) was advised by wind energy firm Windcrop not to go ahead with his planning application for a 15 metre domestic turbine because a MoD radar map shows his home is in a large swathe of Lincolnshire ruled out for private installations.
“I was a bit mad because we are surrounded by them,” Mr Rashleigh said. “At night time you get like a whooshing noise. We get a little bit of flicker, but it’s mostly the noise at night.”
Mr Rasheigh wrote to the MoD this week asking for a re-think. Windcrop boss John Moore said the MoD can plot big wind farms, but lone turbines cannot be accommodated by the ministry’s systems.
He’s had around 100 applications for single turbines turned down in the East of England and advised Mr Rashleigh not to apply for planning consent because he was likely to be wasting a £400 application fee. The Bicker area already has one wind farm substation and a second is planned by RWE npower renewables, which could end up in a field next to Mr Rashleigh’s home – one of four possible sites linked to offshore Tritton Knoll.
Consultation events were held in Swineshead and Bicker Fen this week. Boston MP Mark Simmonds has written to energy minister John Hayes, MP for South Holland and The Deepings, saying it’s unreasonable that Bicker should have to cope with “yet more wind related infrastructure”.