A PUBLIC consultation on a project to build two community-owned wind turbines near Pucklechurch has been launched.
A website has been set up so people can find out more about the Leigh Farm Wind Turbines project, with exhibition events staged in January for people to ask questions of the groups involved.
People are being invited to have their say on the project from now until March 7, before a planning application is submitted later in the spring.
The project is being led by non-profit renewable energy organisation Bristol Energy Network, in collaboration with Emersons and Lyde Green Community Energy (ELCoE) and South Gloucestershire Community Energy Network (SGCEN).
It is being funded by the West of England Combined Authority and the turbines will be built on land owned by South Gloucestershire Council, just north of the M4 between Pucklechurch and Westerleigh.
The Voice reported last month that the aim is to build two turbines that between them will generate 8.5 megawatts of electricity – enough to power 8,000 homes.
They will be owned through a “community benefit society” structure, with profits from the sale of energy committed to benefiting South Gloucestershire residents, particularly those communities closest to the site.
BEN said: “Over their lifetime, the turbines are intended to support work on fuel poverty, home energy efficiency and climate action, alongside other local priorities that communities identify.”
Maps produced for the consultation show that the turbines would be built close to the M4 on the opposite side to Lyde Green and Pucklechurch.
BEN expects any noise from the turbines to be largely drowned out by motorway traffic.
The closest settlement to the site is Parkfield, a hamlet south of the M4, while on the north side the Westerleigh fuel depot, abattoir and crematorium are closer to the turbines than Westerleigh is.
However the area to the west of the fuel depot is earmarked as a potential development site for 2,050 homes in South Gloucestershire Council’s draft Local Plan, which is currently awaiting government approval. Last month the Voice reported that housing provider Places for People had secured use of that land as lead developer for the North Lyde Ecotech Village project.
BEN says the turbines would have a 25-year lifespan: after that they would be taken away for recycling and the foundations covered so the land can be returned to its previous use.
The plans include planting new hedgerows, wildflower meadows and trees at the 228-acre Leigh Farm. The open spaces around turbines make it possible to restore and manage habitats that further support pollinators and other wildlife.
The site would be remotely monitored 24/7 and undergo regular maintenance and management through BEN.
The first exhibition event in Pucklechurch on January 19 was attended by around 35 people. Another was held the following day in Westerleigh, with the third scheduled for Lyde Green Community Centre on January 31 between 11.30am and 3pm.
Groups involved in the project have had stalls to give people more information at the events.
ELCoE’s Chris Sunderland said: “We might be in receipt of some of the funds raised so we want to tell people what we’re about.”
Details of the project can be found online at www.leighfarmwindturbines.co.uk.
People can email views to feedback@alpacacommunications.com, and anyone who is not online can call 07846 503784 or write to Bristol Energy Network at Redbrick House, 6 Wilder Street, BS2 8QH.
After the consultation ends a formal planning application will be made to the council, with a decision on permission expected in around a year’s time.
Building the turbines is expected to take about six months, with construction traffic using Westerleigh Road between the Hambrook and Tormarton junctions of the M4 to reach the site.
One issue facing all new energy projects is a “bottleneck” in connecting them to the National Grid, which is in need of updating to handle new capacity.
A possible solution under consideration is to use the turbines to supply power directly to the Bristol and Bath Science Park in Emersons Green.
