Wind turbines: nobody wants it, but they don't care

Another victory for big government and big corporations against local people; the Earls Hall wind turbines outside Clacton have been given the go-ahead.  Please don't call it planning consent.

410 foot-high monster turbines will now be erected less than a thousand yards from people's homes - despite the fact that it was opposed at district, county and Parliamentary level.  The industrialisation of the English countryside continues despite the opposition of those who live in it.  So much for democracy.

Remember this next time you hear a politician talk the localist talk. 

Contests such as this are always unequal.  Plucky local campaigners rely on volunteers and themselves.  Yet big corporate interests are able to hire big legal guns - paid for from the £ billions the developers receive in hidden subsidy taken from every householder's electricity bill.

And it will do nothing to stop the costs of your electricity bill increasing.  On the contrary, your bill will rise very significantly to finance this stitch-up between big business and big government.

Posted on 24 November 2009 by Douglas Carswell

Comments

Unfortunately Douglas your party are signed up to all this environmental unproven idea.

We cannot have 'Direct Democracy' until we can disentangle ourselves from the EU and the political 'rule' they are able to exert on this country.

Posted on 24 November 2009 10:02 by WitteringsfromWitney

This process illustrates the problems with 'localism' Tendring council spent a large amount of taxpayers money against the advice of their planning offices and without any chance of winning. They should be personally accountable for wasting our money.

Posted on 24 November 2009 10:45 by Chris Southall

Wind turbines produce a minimal percent of energy which is needed to power the UK yet we are told its good for the environment. how can a big ugly 410 foot high wind turbine be good for the environment? it spoils the environment you can see the eyesores for miles but what can we do to stop it? There must be an alternative solution to these ugly monsters!

Posted on 24 November 2009 10:48 by Pip

The real shame of it is that windmills are so totally & completely useless. The big corporate interests make far more out of the subsidies than they can ever get from selling electricity. I have little objection to big corporate interests - who else will build the nuclear power stations we need to keep the lights on - but I do object to such interests whose profits & indeed solvency depend entirely on payola from the political class.

The visual intrusion of one such windmill is more than that of a nuclear power station (producing over 1,000 times as much), hundreds of homes or indeed a golf course & their support of windmills & opposition to building homes or CO2 free nuclear shows the "environmentalists" to be absolutely opposed to environmentalism & simply Luddites under a false flag.

Posted on 24 November 2009 11:16 by Neil Craig

So the "government inspector" isn't accountable to Parliament? Presumably he's from another Quango. Not a surprise, I suppose.

Do we save a fortune by not having district, county and national "democracy", leaving everything to the quangocracy and EU to run, or do we do it the other way around? There doen't seem to be any middle ground.

Which parties are going to listen to our opinions on this one, and which parties might be in Government after the next election? No, I can't see a correlation either.

Posted on 24 November 2009 11:33 by Mick Anderson

As much as I am "on board" with the whole Localism idea, it's never going to happen.

What we will get is some half-hearted 'nod' towards localism which entirely misses the point.

Most politicians don't want to give power away, they want to increase it. "Small government" sounds great in opposition, but once the reins of power are in hand - it's too addictive.

Don't get me started on the EU and Global Warming. Both just parts of the game being played to centralise power, IMHO.

Collectivism is alive and well and - everywhere.

Posted on 24 November 2009 11:35 by Steve Tierney

Good heavens, Douglas! You've found something upon which we can agree! Go-Dougie, Go-Dougie!

Posted on 24 November 2009 11:51 by Daid Gale

I want Direct Local Democracy now, I want a House of Commons legislature that holds government and big business to account on behalf of the people.

I do not want to wait for Douglas to eventually win the leadership of the Green and Red Conservative party in order to start the process of democratisation , I haven't got that long.


We are crying out for a leader with the courage to take on the fight and break the old order.

Posted on 24 November 2009 12:07 by libertarian

Mussolini would be proud of the UK, it's almost exactly his form of fascim with big business and the state calling the shots.

When are the likes of yourself going to gain control of the concervatiive party Douglas, it needs to become concervative again.

Posted on 24 November 2009 13:39 by chris southern

Libertarian - you and millions of others!

What politicians fail to realise is that the electorate is slowly but surely becoming more volatile. There may be few outward signs of what's coming but I fear that, if the current trend for disenfranchisement continues, there will be large-scale civil unrest. Of course, the government of the day will blame whichever small group of activists that are target of the month for the trouble but the reality is that people have had enough of government and business pulling their trousers down around their ankles, bending them over and giving their bottoms a right royal seeing to.

Politicians of all flavours - the writing is on the wall. Ignore it at your peril.

Posted on 24 November 2009 14:10 by David Gale

What is crazy is that the unelected inspector was not allowed to include the Gunfleet Sands wind farm as part of his decision.

Why the 'eck not?

I am all for renewable energies but we in Tendring are doing our bit. I suppose he cant include the Gunfleet sands extension project either.

Why dont they go the whole hog and flatten Holland on Sea and build a nuclear power station, and while your at it build a tidal barrage on the river colne.

Or even better: lets not worry about any of these and simply harness the hot air coming out of the Government benches

Posted on 24 November 2009 21:56 by David Filce

With comments from chris southall like this:-
This process illustrates the problems with 'localism' Tendring council spent a large amount of taxpayers money against the advice of their planning offices and without any chance of winning. They should be personally accountable for wasting our money.

Posted on 24 November 2009 10:45 by Chris Southall

Its no wonder he lives on the other side of town.
He who doth protesteth the most..etc...

Not In My Back Yard at its very best.

Posted on 29 November 2009 23:19 by Ivan Burrit

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