Countryside Amenity.

Of concern here the integrity of the amenity value of both the Brampton Valley Way , and the Green Lanes bridleway that define two of the site borders and the bridleway and footpaths that actually cross the site. Two of the turbines are within 200m of a bridleway, which is counter to the suggestion from the British Horse Society that the minimums separation should be three times the overall height (i.e. almost 400m). A further turbine is within 126m of a footpath, which is even within the ‘topple’ distance should a turbine collapse.

The greatest risk to equestrian users of the BVW is that horses will be ‘spooked’ by the shadows cast on the bridleway by the turbines. This will be a particular problem during summer mornings and will be exacerbated by the discontinuous nature of the hedgerows along the BVW itself. British Horse Society recognizes that there is no statutory separation between wind turbines and bridleways, with the only specific guideline being the 200m buffer recommended when PPS22 Companion Guide was framed. Two of the turbines are already inside a 200m ‘buffer’ of a bridleway. It seems now that this guideline is too lenient, with 300m or even three times the turbine height being suggested (BHS advisory statement on wind farms AROW20s08/1).