OVER 50 residents packed out their village hall in attendance at a public meeting to hear initial plans for the creation of a wind farm near Bodmin Moor.

They were invited to hear about the initial plans ahead of a submitting initial plans for the opinions of Cornwall Council on what is deemed potentially acceptable for the location ahead of a planning application submission.

Residents from Helland and neighbouring parishes, along with representatives from the Parish Meeting, Cllr Andy Coppin of Bodmin Town Council and Cllr Jenny Cruse, the Cornwall Council member for the area, heard about the initial plans from Mark Quinn, a wind power investor and developer of several sites across Cornwall and Walter Wonnacott, his planning agent.

It was revealed that the wind turbines could be as high as 115 metres from base to tip, with the possibility of some being smaller if required by planners in the event of approval.

Mr Wonnacott explained to the residents the process which will take place prior to any development. He said: “There is no plan submitted as yet with the planning application being prepared but in the coming days, we will begin the process towards getting planning permission by submitting a scoping opinion request.

“It is possible to do these reports during a full planning application, but our preferred route is to engage with Cornwall Council early on for all the various surveys and feedback.

“Within the land under Mark’s ownership, there will be a lot of locations that wouldn’t be suitable for wind turbines for different reasons, and would be dictated by the planning process.”

He added that it isn’t yet possible to say definitively how many wind turbines would be on the site, but that they were looking into screening out eight to ten locations in the application.

After the presentation, the duo took questions from attendees. Those in attendance took turns to ask questions mostly related to the visual impact of the wind turbines, particularly on the protected landscape of the wider Bodmin Moor area. Mr Wonnacott reassured them that it would be taken into consideration through the planning process.

One resident asked if there would be compensation for the ‘potential loss in their house price’ which was refused.

After the meeting, Cllr Cruse said: “Firstly, thanks to Mark Quinn for suggesting the scoping meeting as under current policies it is not a requirement. There is concern amongst the residents, and it is a matter of planning judgement and balance as to if this goes ahead.

“There are certainly concerns regarding impact to the Area of Great Landscape Value plus on the nearby National Landscape plus concerns for wildlife and also noise and disturbance to the village and area.

“However, the restrictions on onshore wind farms are now removed and there is a clear guideline from the Labour government that we should be utilising wind power. I felt that the evening was in the spirit of democracy and was extremely pleased to see such a large gathering of the local community.”