Saturday 18 July 2009

MIXED MESSAGES

Well, the new signs are going up. And they look a bit odd and ... well ... daft, really.

A stranger to the area, seeing these yellow signs, here and there, reading:

'2km OK - KEEP YOUR DISTANCE'

What would they think? Everyone should be keeping two kilometres away from the Lenches?

Even weirder is when these signs have been set up right next to the old VVASP signs which say 'NO'.

So you've got: 'NO' to the windfarm, and then, '2km OK'.

Which is it? Is it a 'NO' or is it an 'OK'? What the hell are these people on about?

One of my correspondents has pointed out to me that the two kilometre campaign has been gaining ground and suspects that this is an attempt by the protesters to appear to be taking up a more reasonable position with the regard to the windfarm, when in fact they're promoting an unrealistic objective.

After all, a two kilometre exclusion zone between wind turbines and the nearest dwellings, if implemented, would make it difficult for any kind of windfarm to be built in the Lenches, or pretty well anywhere else in England for that matter.

So, in many ways, the '2km OK' campaign is totally unrealistic. It's like the protesters saying, 'We'll accept a windfarm near us, just as long as the turbines are not more than 2ft high'!

From a PR point-of-view, the new signs are rubbish. Their message doesn't really make sense - especially when placed next to the ugly old 'NO' placards.

And, even when you've figured out whatever point the sign is trying to make, the problem then is that it's not a reasonable point.

No other country in Europe has a two kilometre limit where windfarms and dwellings are concerned.

The protesters keep rabbiting on about Scotland, and even France, as examples of places where windfarms can't be built closer than 2km from houses.

Well, that's simply not true. Neither country has such a rule.

And by imposing such a rule, uniquely, in the UK, we would simply continue to lag behind the rest of Europe in windpower.

Given the government's new commitment to windpower, the '2km' campaign is yet another waste of time. It isn't going to happen. It can't happen. It would be extremely foolish and counter-productive of the UK to impose such a rule.

I suspect VVASP know that. But they're just trying to look like they've got a reasonable solution.

Two words that don't really go together: VVASP and 'reasonable'.

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