A COUPLE forced out of their home by noise from a wind farm face a second battle after buying a new house close to nine proposed turbines.
Jane and Julian Davis reached an out-of-court settlement at the end of 2011 after a five-year battle over alleged noise nuisance from the wind farm at Deeping St Nicholas.
After the settlement, the couple spoke of the relief at the end of their nightmare and set about getting their lives back to normal.
One of the first things they did was buy a new home for Julian’s ageing parents close to Cuckoo Bridge in Horseshoe Road.
But their dreams of a quiet life have been shattered by plans for up to nine 125m turbines within about 1.5km and in the direct line of sight of Julian’s parents’ new home.
Jane said: “When we heard about these plans we literally put our heads in our hands and said ‘oh no, not again’.
“The house isn’t quite as close as we were before, but there is the potential for noise and certainly it will spoil their view.
“We just can’t stand the thought of having to go through it all again.
“It took six months to persuade them to move and now their lives are going to be blighted by the sight of these turbines.”
Jane and Julian are now throwing their weight – as well as their almost expert knowledge of wind turbines – behind a campaign to stop the development at The Delph – but have vowed not to let it take over their lives as their battle against developers of the Deeping St Nicholas farm did.
The couple claim noise from the turbines prevented them from sleeping at their home in North Drove Bank, Spalding, which was just 1,050 metres away from the nearest turbine.
They sued landowners and the companies that owned and operated the turbines, but a secret settlement was reached as expert witnesses were due to take the stand at London’s High Court.
Julian added: “My parents, who will be 80 this year, had five long years of this hell and we have all just got our lives back on track.
“My dad has been ill and we want to keep them out of it as much as possible, but we will do what we can to help oppose these plans.”
The couple joined almost 200 other residents of West Pinchbeck to voice their views of the proposed wind farm at The Delph at a public meeting on Monday.
One of their big bugbears is the “drop in the ocean” amount of electricity generated by wind farms when compared to the exisitng Spalding Power Station.
Jane said: “When Spalding Power Station expands I believe it will equate to the output of about 7,000 of these wind turbines.
“So this wind farm will provide just a drop in the ocean but will mean misery for the people who live in its shadow.
“We bought this house for Julian’s parents because they wanted somewhere quiet, but it seems nowhere in South Holland is safe from the relentless march of turbines.”