District council wind turbine project put on hold

BRAINTREE District Council’s plans to produce green electricity is to go on hold.

As uncertainty grows on the anticipated income from the Government’s feed-in tariff scheme for renewable energy projects, plans to erect a wind turbine in Great Notley Country Park has been postponed. A public consultation exercise has also been put on ice.

Leader of the district council, Cllr Graham Butland, said: “It would be wrong to continue to seek public views on our proposal to put a wind turbine at Great Notley Country Park when we are becoming increasingly uncertain of whether it would be financially viable.

“I am also concerned about the differing views on appropriate distances of wind turbines from residential properties as nationally there is still a lot of debate on this.”

He said the council needs more time to “research and clarify key issues” before considering the future green energy project.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those people who visited the exhibition and sent in their comments - the consultation exercise to date has been informative, but I think it is right to now bring it to a close as the council itself has some key issues to consider before we commit any more resources to this project. I want to be assured we are doing the right thing,” he added.