Castle Farm development halted
Development of the Castle Farm wind turbine has unfortunately been halted this week due a legal dispute between the current and former owners of the farm. As a result we have been forced to cease all activity.
Naturally we are very disappointed that the scheme is now not going to be implemented since it would have bought valuable extra income to the Parish, provided the farm with badly needed financial stability and put East Farleigh on the map as an eco-village.
Full planning permission was granted in January 2011.
UPDATE (25/02/2011):
Since the Kent Messenger picked up on this story last week, Peter (the farmer) has received numerous calls and messages from friends and local residents who have expressed their disappointment that the project has been halted. It would seem the assertions by some that "no-one in the village wants it" were greatly exaggerated.
Castle Farm granted full planning permission
In a well attended meeting of the Maidstone Borough Planning committee this evening, permission was granted for the Castle Farm wind turbine.
The vote was tight at 7 to 6 in favour due to a number of councilors who could not be moved from their position that any visual impact was too much - despite backing from the planning officer and a general consensus that a rejection would more than likely be overturned at appeal.Read more
Castle Farm Congratulations from Tory MP
In a letter from Maidstone Conservative MP Helen Grant, owner Peter Checkley is congratulated for his efforts to reduce carbon emissions through the proposal to install a mid-sized wind turbine on the farm.
The letter goes on to say:
I believe that wind power, if harnessed properly, can help to tackle climate change and create thousands of jobs.
We totally agree! The UK currently has no indigenous mid-size wind turbine manufacturers and this is something we want to change. We are working hard to put our own turbine, the DWP24 back into full production - combining the dual needs for manufacturing jobs and clean energy.
Castle Farm Gets More Press Coverage (UPDATED)
15/10/2010
This week the Kent Messenger reported from the Parish Council planning meeting to discuss the scheme. Concerns were raised about possible damage to peoples health caused by low frequency noise (LFN) or infrasound. We have written to the KM pointing out that this work was largely discredited and that independent research commissioned by the DTI found no evidence for it. A detailed discussion on LFW can be found here
East Farleigh & Coxheath Public Meetings (UPDATED)
Thursday evening saw approximately 30 villagers coming along to our public meeting with a mixed variety of views being expressed. On Friday we moved to Coxheath village hall with another 20 or so attendees. Both meetings had been publicised in local newspapers, Parish Council web sites and magazines plus the East Farleigh local news and Kent Messenger web sites. Slides from the main presentation can be found here.
Castle Farm in the Kent Messenger (UPDATED)
The Castle Farm Community project made news today with inclusion in the Kent Messenger newspaper. In a reasonably balanced article they provided some of the essential details of the scheme but left out a few key facts:Read more
Castle Farm, East Farleigh - Public Exhibition
As part of the pre-application planning process for the Castle Farm community project we are arranging a number of public exhibitions during July 2010. DistGen staff will be on-hand to explain both the physical elements of the turbine and the community investment opportunities:Read more