Skelmersdale residents have their say on wind turbine proposal
30.06.2011
Plans for a wind turbine at the Walkers plant in Skelmersdale
have been unveiled to the public at an exhibition, which took place
on 17th and 18th June.
53 local people and businesses as well as the firm's 560
employees visited the event to view PepsiCo's proposal to install
the 125-metre turbine. Visuals showing how the turbine would look
in the landscape from four different viewpoints were displayed, as
well as further technical information on the turbine and its
operation. Members of the PepsiCo project team were on hand to
answer any questions and people encouraged to provide feedback.
The event generated 55 comments forms of which 60 per cent
expressed support for the company's plans and long-term aim to
minimise its impact on the environment.
Speaking about the feedback,Simon Ely, site leader for Walkers
in Skelmersdalesaid: "We have been encouraged by the comments
received so far. Everybody who completed a form stated that they
found the event useful and 95 per cent of these people confirmed
that all of their questions had been answered. We appreciate
however, that there are a number of local residents who may have
some concerns about the turbine in particular relating to potential
noise. We would like to reassure the community that detailed noise
surveys will be submitted as part of the planning application and
that the turbine will have to adhere to strict Government
guidelines."
Anyone that was unable to attend the public exhibition can view
the display stands and read about the turbine on a dedicated
website - www.skelmersdalewindturbine.co.uk.Simon
Ely added:"The website provides a lot of visual information,
frequently asked questions and an online comments form to enable
people to ask questions or provide feedback. We would welcome all
comments on our proposal, so would urge anyone that couldn't visit
our exhibition to take a look and contact us with their views."