Cleek hall wind farm

Gradually we are finding out more details about the wind farm being proposed between Cliffe and Barlow. According to the Selby Times the exhibition to consult with residents was poorly advertised. The developers are Henry Boot and Hallam Land management.

Details so far are

5 x turbines - each with 80 metre high columns and 46 metre long rotor blades making them 126 metres high overall ( about 410 feet )

Theoretical max output of 2.05MW for each turbine will only be produced when the steady wind speed is 28mph or more.

The average output is likely to be about 0.5MW or less due to average wind speeds in the area. We would not be surprised if the actual average was about 0.4MW , which would mean a total average output from the 5 turbines of only 2 MW or less than one tenth of a percent of the average power produced by Drax. And for that the developers are prepared to ruin the lives of people living in Cliffe and Barlow.

The turbines will dominate the views to the South east from Staynor Hall, Selby. They will be about 1 km from the swing bridge on the new by-pass. The nearest home to a turbine will be only 670 metres distant and will be subject to noise level of 35 decibels. This level of noise will be heard quite clearly and at night will dominate the background noise. While it is within the noise limits allowed for wind turbines it does not mean that they won't be heard. This level of noise from turbines can be very annoying for the unfortunate residents. Wind turbine noise is continuous when the turbines are operating and the noise produced can be extremely annoying. See our noise pages for more information.

Our map shows the location of the proposed turbines in relation to Selby, Cliffe and Barlow.

On the subject of house prices the developers in their "FAQ and Misconceptions" says

House prices
– A study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggests that wind farms have no lasting impact on UK house prices
– It shows that local house prices recover from any initial influence once a wind farm has been operating for two years
– Evidence suggests that those living nearest to wind farms are the strongest advocates

The Key statement in the RICS Report to which the developers refer actually says - "67% of estate agents think prices fall at planning stage and negative impact continues but becomes less severe after two years or so after completion"

Becoming "less severe" is a very long way short of "recover from the initial impact". For homes closest to the turbines the loss can be 20% or more and this is common across countries where turbines are built too close to homes - see our house price pages for further info. Click here

We have also recently heard that there is yet another wind farm proposal being developed for a site near to Hensall but we have no further information at this stage.