Heated debate on Naseby wind farm in House of Lords
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A DECISION to accept a proposal to build a wind farm next to the historic Battle of Naseby site was the subject of a heated debate in the House of Lords.
Lord Naseby put forward a motion to the Lords yesterday, calling for the reversal of a decision by the planning inspector last month to give the go ahead to energy firm E.ON’s plan to build six turbines near the key civil war battle site.
Addressing Baroness Joan Hanham, Minister for Communities and Local Government, Lord Naseby said: “The wind farm has been given permission on the spurious grounds that it will be limited to a 25-year lifespan.
“I urge the secretary of state to think again and call in this decision.”
Baroness Hanham said she would be unable to comment on the decision due to the fact the period which people were allowed to appeal against the Planning Inspectorate’s ruling to the High Court was yet to expire.
Baroness Hanham said: “The planning inspectorate is independent and makes a decision on behalf of the secretary of state.”
But Lord Naseby said opposers of the wind farm did not have the funds to make an appeal to the High Court.
Lord Peter Brooke of Sutton Mandeville also said there needed to be a rethink on the decision and described Naseby as the “birthplace of democracy in England” and a “quintessential piece of the countryside in middle England”.
E.ON said it firmly believed the wind farm “represents the right technology, in the right location to ensure energy security and combat climate change”.
However, the decision to allow the wind farm to be built was labelled “disgraceful” by the area’s MP, Chris Heaton-Harris, and strongly criticised by historians.
Martin Marix Evans, who has written books on Naseby and is trustee of the Battlefields Trust, said: “Hopefully the people in power will take notice of Naseby now it is being mentioned on such a big stage.”
Hundreds of soldiers died in the battle between Parliament’s New Model Army and King Charles I’s Royalist forces at Naseby on June 14, 1645.
The key battle of the civil war is recognised as one of the most important ever to be fought on British soil.
It led to the creation of the modern system of Parliamentary democracy.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 8 comments to this article
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Shalom
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 07:00 PMScam , scam , scam scam, etc , etc. That is what wind farms are. A Scam perpetrated by the mad EU , and get rich quick landowners. But stuff the taxpayer eh ? We do not live in a democracy . But an oligarchy . Look it up.
jimorourke
Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 11:53 AMWe are hardly living in a democracy with a privately wealthy public schoolboy government and an unelected House of Lords. This government doesn't listen to anyone, they do what they want to do despite what anybody says. That's not democracy.
willi eckaslyke
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 11:46 AMjohn wright....wonder if Prince Phillip really thinks it's a disgrace..the Battle of Naseby nearly put the 'royals' out of work for good..and Northamptonshire has remained in their 'bad books' ever since....SteveRiches; with you all the way on that.
willfromthornby
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:54 AMLady Muck - quite agree. I think it's quite ironic that at the 'birthplace of democracy' the democratic process has clearly failed. A decision which had previously been arrived upon by a democratic consultation was overturned by a single unelected person - disregarding the views of both locals and national organisations.
lady muck
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:31 AMIt's arguable whether Naseby is the birthplace of democracy. it's even arguable whether we have democracy now, with a hereditary monarchy and hereditary peers sitting in the Hose of Lords. If Lord Peter Brooke turns over a few more pages in his history book, he will see that the monarchy was restored, and universal suffrage was resisted by the ruling class for another 270 plus years.
SteveRiches
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 10:30 AMOne of the reasons our power bills are rising to eye-watering levels is the unrealistically high level of subsidy being paid to the firms who build these massive wind turbines. It doesn't make us "greener" it just makes relatively few people a lot richer. The money would be better spent on energy efficiency within our homes and upon energy creation subsidies at a much more local level - for example smaller more appropriate locally owned turbines, water-heating roof-pipe boosters, bale-burning boilers for farms, stream and river turbines at the sites of old mill-races, and heat-exchange ground units in our gardens.
john wright
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 09:00 AMPratt of the Year? I would like to nominate the planning Inspector who having agreed a wind farm would damage the national important Battle of Naseby site, has never the less approved it, as Pratt of the Year. Can you imagine the American people allowing a wind farm to be built on Little Round top at the Gettysburg Battle site? Northamptonshire now as more applications for wind farms than anywhere else, even though our wind speed is the lowest in the Country, looks bad, what’s going on, something smells, it makes no sense, other than the generation of massive £283,088 per turbine for the greedy power companies? The wind farm already built in the county generates a feeble 19% of capacity, no wind farm should be built that cannot achieve 30% of capacity. Prince Phillips agrees it’s a disgrace, perhaps he could put some Royal stick about.
norfolkboy14
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 08:59 AMWe need to get the Government onside, as well as local councils and others, if we are going to stop these wind turbines being built. Are you disillusioned by rising electricity prices, over dependence on the "green" dream [especially uneconomical and inefficient wind farms] and the destruction of our countryside then please register your objection to the Government on http:epetitions.direct.gov.ukpetitions22958 or by googling "petition 22958" and following the link. Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too. If you are really concerned about wind turbines please write a letter promoting this petition to the Editor of this paper.
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