AN INVESTIGATION is to be carried out after two different sized wind turbines sprung up in West Pinchbeck.
South Holland District Council had granted planning permission for two 36m high turbines at Bank House Farm, Slipe Drove, in May, but residents living nearby have been left fuming after it appeared the structures put up last week did not comply with the planning application.
A planning compliance officer from the council will now look into whether the landowner has breached the terms of the planning permission, and if so it is possible he could be forced to dismantle them.
However, a council spokesman said early indications were that the taller of the two turbines matches the permitted dimensions while the second is smaller.
He said: “Although we had expected both turbines to correspond to the maximum height, the smaller turbine does not appear to have breached the terms of the planning permission.”
But residents, who have formed a Stop West Pinchbeck Wind Farm group to protest against plans to build a nine-turbine wind farm on land owned by the same farmer, say the structures will have a negative impact on the village and surrounding area – particularly as there is a cumulative effect with the ones at Vine House Farm in Deeping St Nicholas.
Spokesman Sue Blake said: “The planning officers in their advice on granting planning permission state these two turbines are far enough away not to cause any cumulative impact with the Deeping St Nicholas turbines.
“I’d like those planning officers to take a drive down Slipe Drove now that they are up and see that this is clearly not correct.
“One wonders how close further turbines need to be to create undesirable cumulative impact effects.
“The result is that the view for many people is now one of ten turbines all in a row – the blight is spreading bit by bit across the skyline.
“If, heaven forbid, the nine at West Pinchbeck were to get planning permission, from a visual perspective there would be one long stretch of turbines from here to Deeping St Nicholas.”