SOUND INVESTMENTS

It's probably fair to state that most people in the Lenches don't like taxes.

I know that nobody really likes paying tax, but those who have money generally like to keep it for themselves and strenuously oppose having their wealth redistributed.

But now, it would appear, the people of Church Lench have warmed to the idea of redistributing wealth by means of taxes. Specifically, they're using your taxes to pay for their opposition to the Lenchwick Windfarm.

At least two local parish councils have been tapped for significant contributions towards the costs of sound equipment. Operating through its 'Windfarm Working Party', Church Lench Parish Council intends to run a background noise-level survey.

This will run alongside the same survey commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables from independent experts.

The assumption, as the minutes of Harvington Parish Council's meeting in May make clear, is that ScottishPower will misrepresent the findings of the independent noise-level survey when submitting its planning application for the proposed Lenchwick Windfarm.

One could argue that the implication that Scottish Power would lie to the district council's planning committee is potentially libellous. Given the kind of nonsensical opposition to windfarms whipped up by VVASP - who effectively control Church Lench Parish Council - it would be a PR disaster for Scottish Power if they were caught out telling porkies. The nimbies would gladly pass on that information to all their nimby friends fighting similarly vital developments up and down the country, meaning that Scottish Power had basically shot itself in the foot.

Notwithstanding the silliness of the idea that ScottishPower Renewables and the consultants would lie to the planning committee, Church Lench PC has leant on the surrounding parish councils in order to fund this complete waste of money - a rival noise survey of their own. It's premature, given that a parish council can not respond to a planning application until it has actually been submitted. It's also prejudicial.

The whole point of this extraneous and expensive survey - which we, as council tax payers, are actually paying for - is to see if the parish councillors of Church Lench can find any grounds whatsoever, however slim, to oppose the windfarm. It's a fishing expedition, and an expensive one at that, paid for out of your taxes.

There are plenty of people in VVASP who could pay for this survey, if they chose, but no - YOU can pay for it, so that the well-heeled protesters don't have to dip into their own sizeable pockets.

The VVASP protest group has seriously misrepresented pretty well every fact available about windfarms. They have misrepresented the scale of local opposition to the turbines. They have misrepresented the noise made by turbines. And so on, and so on, and so on.

Now, they're effectively accusing the windfarm developer, before the fact, of misrepresenting background noise levels in the Lenches and commissioning their own survey (paid for by YOU).

Seriously, whose figures would you be more likely to trust? VVASP's? Not given their track record with truth and science. The planning department at Wychavon District Council is already aware of VVASP's tactics and the extent of local unhappiness at all the hectoring, the bullying, the lies, the myths and the propaganda. So why should the planning officers or members of the planning committee at Wychavon take a survey, commissioned by VVASP under the auspices of Church Lench Parish Council and a so-called 'Windfarm Working Party', seriously?

This whole thing is a waste of time and YOUR money - especially if you don't live in the Lenches, because only in Church Lench is there a majority of opposition to the windfarm. So why aren't they paying for this silly survey themselves?

Because they do have to try to appear to be just a little bit neutral and they don't want to spend all their own money when they can get other parish councils to cover the costs.

If Church Lench Parish Council is seen to be prejudiced and biased towards the windfarm before the planning application is received, their responses to the application can be disqualified and ignored by the Wychavon planning committee.

The fact that Church Lench Parish Councillors tend to have 'Stop Lenchwick Windfarm' placards and stickers all over their properties would suggest that any pretence at neutrality went out of the window months ago.

Their so-called 'Windfarm Working Party', which includes reps from the other parish councils in the vicinity, is realistically about as impartial as the councillors on Church Lench PC. It exists to trade misleading, fear-mongering 'information', as supplied by VVASP, and to try and find reasons to oppose a planning application which hasn't even been submitted yet.

Are you happy that they're using your money doing this? Or do you feel that the parish council precepts should be used for what they're meant for - i.e. the proper business of a parish council?

It's your money. You decide.