Too many turbines for county? (From Durham Times)

Too many turbines for county?

8:20am Saturday 16th January 2010

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COUNTY Durham may be unable to take all the wind turbines envisaged for it in a regional planning blueprint, a study says.

The Association of North-East Councils commissioned studies to assess the impact on the landscape of meeting targets set in the Regional Spatial Strategy. Fifty turbines already operate in the county.

The study says that the North Durham Upland Coalfield, an area west of Durham City stretching from near Crook to Chester-le-Street, has 32 turbines, which exceeds the strategy’s figure of 20 to 25.

“Opportunities for further development appear to be limited without further change to the landscape character of the area," says a report on the study to Wednesday’s meeting of Durham County Council’s cabinet.

South Durham Upland Coalfield, from near Crook to near Barnard Castle, has no wind energy developments and is not capable of taking the 20 to 25 envisaged by the RSS “without a significant change in the landscape character of the area”. An area called East Durham Limestone, from Houghton-le-Spring to the outskirts of Stockton, is said to be “nearly at capacity".

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