Parish meeting 7th August 2012 – an eye witness account – housing and turbines
Topics discussed:
- Ocean Housing proposal for ten houses in Mount
- Wind Turbine planning application PA12/05060, near to Carne Wood
Despite the parish’s small size, Warleggan Parish meetings are generally well attended. But the meeting of Tuesday 7th August was exceptional, with the hall full to capacity, with many forced to stand. On both the issues, there was vibrant and passionate discussion, but it remained polite and civil throughout. I can’t imagine many of us there would have envied the chairman her position, faced with such a large number of people keen to express their views, but her authority was respected throughout, and rightly so.
The following is an attempt to recall the evening’s discussions – nothing more, nothing less. Most importantly, this is not, as will be evident, an official record; for this, we must await the reading of the minutes of the meeting at the next will-it-be-as-exciting-as-this-one meeting.
The tension was mounting in Mount. Would there be war in Warleggan? As the sun started to fall in the west, convoys of vehicles were converging on the village hall, parish citizens were marching to the battleground, along with volunteers mobilised from St Neot, Cardinham and beyond. Never mind the Olympics, here was where the action would be.
The hall quickly filled up – soon all the seats were taken, and many had no option but to stand.
The clock ticked slowly on… 7.26. 7.27. 7.28… At the far end of the hall, sat the parish chairman and her clerk, armed with nothing but papers, and with nothing to shield them but the table in front of them. In front of them, a sea of faces. Behind them, one noted, the emergency exit. No football-style segregation here separating those for and against the wind turbine, no safety barriers, not even a single G4S security guard at the door.
Tick tick. It was 7.30. An expectant chatter, and then “Quiet please”. A few ‘shush’s and gradually the hubbub subsided.
DING. The first bout was to be started. This was, in effect, a warm-up, the short before the main film. The first pair of victims stood up, one of them brandishing a shield intriguingly decorated with a drawing of ten houses in a field. They bravely placed their shield to one side, and, safe in the knowledge that the kitchen was only just a couple of feet behind them should they need to seek refuge, they started to speak.
Within minutes, the first salvo was fired from just in front of them; then another from a few rows back… But the Queensbury rules were followed… and they looked like they might just survive…
The plan was simple: they wanted to build ten houses in a field. On one side there’d be two semi-detached 2-bedroom houses (numbered 1 and 2 on their illustrated shield), and two semi-detached 3-bedroom houses (nos. 3 and 4). Opposite them would be a trio of 3-bedroom houses (nos. 5,6,7) and a trio of 2-bedroom houses (nos. 8,9,10). Of the 10 houses, 4 would be open market and 6 would be affordable. Of the affordable homes, 3 would be for rent and 3 for shared ownership. Crystal clear. Naturally, everyone instantly understood.
‘But we agreed six houses,’ a voice called out from the ranks. The two heroes bravely stood their ground. With cutbacks in grants, they explained, funding was short. So, to save money, instead of six houses, they would have to build ten. Of course, that made perfect sense, anyone could see.
‘Waagh,’ cried the crowd, ‘we want six, we want six’. ‘Ten’. ‘Six’. ‘Ten’. ‘Six’. ‘Think of the traffic,’ said one. ‘What about the sewage?’ asked another. ‘Save the hedgerow’ pleaded another. ‘What about flooding – in the original plan you had half the field dedicated to soak-away?’ asked another.
The pair stepped back towards that kitchen door. Would they take cover? Would they make a run for the emergency exit? Everyone watched.
‘Ten’. ‘Six’. ‘Ten’. ‘Six’.
‘Can I make a suggestion?’ asked one. ‘Shall we propose a compromise of eight?’ ‘Eight??? No, SIX!’ ‘Ten’. ‘Six’. ‘Ten’. ‘Six’. Who is that traitor, one of ‘us’, trying to find peace before even a single drop of blood has been drawn?
DING. The chairman called ‘time’ on Round One. And the winner was… Well, suffice it to say, the ‘sixes’ won that bout. The two brave folks from Ocean Housing walked sadly to the door at the other end of the hall – and with the sound of everyone applauding them politely for their effort, you could almost hear them muttering to themselves… ten…. ten… ten…
DING. Round Two. This would be the big one. In the blue corner, at the far end, the representative preparing to argue the case for the wind turbine; towards the front, in the blue corner, the opposition was readying for battle. The referee reminded everyone of the rules of the planning game, and made it clear that only rate-paying Warlegganites were allowed to play.
The blue corner was invited to strike first, and the crowd watched as volley after volley of arguments in favour were lobbed magnificently across the ring: the carbon footprint, renewable energy, the need for electrical power, the need to meet the expectations of environmentally conscious clients, the economics, local employment, the winning characteristics of the E-3120 turbine.
The red corner then replied with its own volleys: there was the visual impact, the noise impact, the impact from infrasound, the impact on wildlife; this was an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; the surveys done were insufficient; the community had not been properly consulted; a house-to-house survey had found 90% against the turbine.
Others then joined in, with arguments for and against – the atmosphere was electric. At times, the referee struggled to be heard at the back; this problem was addressed by making use, perhaps for the first time since the parish acquired it, of the sound amplification system in the hall. His name was Andy.
The red corner proposed a resolution, which was both seconded and opposed, to recommend to the planning committee that the application be opposed, and to recommend that, whatever the planning committee decision, the council be asked to consider this and other proposals only after October, once new county policies had been finalised. It was agreed there should be a vote – but only the Warlegganites amongst the crowd would be eligible to show their hands.
All those in favour? Show of hands? Hands went up and down; there was confusion. Since the resolution was to reject the application, it was explained that those who were in favour of it should reject it, and those who were against it were in favour of it. Now that everyone understood, the vote was carried out. There were 35 in favour. No, there were 36. … 35 … 36. A hand in the third row was going up and down, and then ended up horizontal. Bizarrely, it seemed there was still one person who still wasn’t crystal clear what the question was.
Then there was a show of hands for those who were opposed to the resolution. The totals were announced: 36 in support (i.e. against it), and 9 opposing (i.e. in favour of it).
After a further few bouts for and against the turbine application, the referee called time, and invited the planning sub-committee to come to the front to discuss and vote on the application itself. Around the top table, the discussions began. The crowd fell silent, anxious not to miss a word from on high. Occasionally, there would be pauses in the conversation, and there would be complete silence – you could have heard a pin drop; you could almost have heard the swish of a distant turbine blade, it was that quiet.
Finally, but finally, the vote was carried out: two in favour of the application, three against, and two abstentions. The end of a most memorable meeting.
Further reading
-> draft minutes for this meeting
-> the 85 comments on the turbine issue received on this website