Wind Turbine, Anyone?

Those quality bloggers of Leabank Square have already set out the arguments for and against the Olympic Delivery Authority's proposal to plant a wind turbine on Hackney Marshes. The big upside would be a significant amount of profitable green energy generated for the borough: the Council claims that the combined output from a turbine on the Marshes and another that has already got the go ahead in Waltham Forest would be sufficient to power all "the main Council buildings" by day and all of Hackney's street lights at night. A reduction in carbon emissions would be another good outcome. The main problem, at least for some people, would be that the turbine would measure 120 metres in height. That's pretty vast, and would have a big impact on the skyline.

My initial reaction is to favour the idea, despite being a bit bothered by the size of the windmill and the fact that some of the East Marsh land surrounding it would have to be placed out of bounds. However, the latter isn't all that big and the Council has said (see here) that it would not reduce the number of football pitches (ten) that would be marked out there or impede its future sports development plans. And although I'm becoming a bit of a fogey about tall buildings - I've definitely taken against that thick finger of apartments jutting from Dalston Square - I find tall wind turbines rather graceful and beguiling.

Jules Pipe says that, "On balance, I think the wind turbine is a good idea," but adds, "if the public response to this is no, then it will not go ahead. This will not be forced through if residents don't want it." You can read more from him here. The Council has set up a number of consultation mechanisms (listed in full here). There's an online survey you can complete and an email address - windturbine@hackney.gov.uk - to which you can send your views. Next month there are two consultation events - the first is at the Wally Foster next Monday from 3.00 till 7.30 - and six drop-in sessions at Hackney libraries. The consultation ends of 14 December. Full details here. There's also stuff about the wind turbine proposal along with an upbeat account of progress in and around the Olympic Park in the latest Hackney Today. 

[P.S. I'm away for the rest of this half-term week and am unlikely to be online again before Sunday. This means that any comments probably won't be attended to until then. But please don't let that put you off.] 

Comments

[Alan]

Dave,

Any chance of posting a link to our new local Labour blog for Hackney Central (just down the road from you!)

http://hackneycentrallabour.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Alan

[Teddie Sawyer]

The choice between football and the environment for the Marshes is a cruelly false one. It disguises the take over of common land by Energy Multi-nationals. It plays on people's capacity to surrender something for the greater good. For shades of things to come go to Millfields Recreation Ground, E5, and see the land grab being carried out by the National Grid and EDF by their redeveloped power station.

The is a lot more to Hackney Marshes the football. It is a semi rural space with wide horizens and open skies existing in close proximity to very dense housing conurbations. It ia part of the greater Lea Marshes which are about to be cut through by High rise housing developments, courtesy of Waltham Forest Council.

If schools were teaching children the pleasures and the meaning of the enjoyment of the countryside they would be spending more time outdoors and less time indoors with the heating thermostat at maximum while they play at virtual outdoors games. No Profits in that though is there... except perhaps for the ecology of our world.

[Teddie Sawyer]

In the face of a national 'epidemic' of personal depression the Government recently announced the 'Horizons' project. They intend to ensure that children should receive meaningful emotional experiences in childhood as a hedge against disappointment and trauma in later life.
Despite the proximity of the fabulous resources of the Lea Marshes, any sample of Hackney children will reveal that they have never been taught how to play or how to just 'be' in the great outdoors. All you scmoozers that can burn up the motorways any weekend or take a flight to Turkey or the Med with your kids, spare a thought for the semi-rural environment that has miraculously survived on our doorstep. It is just about to disappear forever.
Do you know how many young people growing up in this area have ended up in Mental Hospital?

[Windsniffer]

Every time I look at wind turbine turn I find it inspirational. It gives me hope that man can live on this planet without messing up the environment?

[alistair siddons]

I don't feel able to decide whether the proposed wind turbine's a good thing or not. Why? Because no-one, not even Hackney council, can tell me what its designed power output is and whether it can reliably deliver. Sometimes science really does need to preside over opinion.

[alistair siddons]

Interesting to see what figures Hackney council has to go on now that the Eton Manor turbine is out of the picture.

Their projections for electricity generation have always been based on the assumption that two wind turbines would be available, not just the oneon east marsh.