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4 hours ago Phil Shepka Feltwell BBC Simon Lejeune said the plans could change depending on feedback An onshore wind farm that would be one of England's largest has been proposed on the border of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. If built, it would cost in excess of £100m. What are the plans and what do people think of them?
The proposals for Redmere Wind Farm come from Swedish company Vattenfall and would see up to 32 turbines, which are up to 721ft (220m) tall, built on land around Shippea Hill. To give a sense of scale, Ely Cathedral - roughly seven miles away - is 66m (216ft) at its highest point. The company hopes the development could power nearly 220,000 homes a year, with plans due to be formally submitted in autumn 2027.
Due to the scale of the project, Vattenfall can bypass the local planning authority and instead seek permission directly from Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Miatta Fahnbulleh. What does the company say? Sites surrounding the Shippea Hill railway station have been earmarked for the development Whitelee Wind Farm is Scotland's largest onshore wind farm and it has more than 200 turbines, England's largest is Keadby Wind Farm in Lincolnshire, which has 34 turbines.
Simon Lejeune, the lead project development manager at Vattenfall, said: "We have a climate emergency and we have an energy problem. "I think you've probably seen it this summer, unprecedented levels of continued heatwaves, droughts, we need to do something drastic about it. "We need to transition towards renewable energy and we need to do it very, very quickly and large onshore wind farms are solving part of that problem." When asked why the company is proposing one wind farm in the specific location, he said there were "a lot of constraints that we need to take into account and one of the main constraints is people, big populations of people".
He said wind farms "tend to be in countryside locations, rural locations". What are the concerns? Public drop-in sessions are being held as the plans remain in an early stage The fens are covered in peatland, which according to Cambridgeshire County Council is "critical for preserving global biodiversity, provide safe drinking water, minimise flood risk and help address climate change".
Charlotte Cane, the Liberal Democrat MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, raised concerns that the turbines could become unstable in the peat soil. Lejeune said peat was "something that crops up quite a lot with onshore wind farms, particularly in Scotland". He said the company would survey the peat and if it was deep they would consider "pile foundations", long elements made of substances such as steel.
"One thing's for sure, we look to minimise the impacts upon peat and the turbines will be sturdy. They're going to be there for 40 years. We don't want any issues with those," he said.
He added land farming can continue around turbines and that it can be "good for the farm to have a diversification of income, which might be for the longevity of their farming enterprise". Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP for West Suffolk, has questioned the suitability of building Redmere near the key US Air Force bases of RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall. "I have warned repeatedly that battery energy storage systems near important airbases is an invitation for hostile states and others to commit acts of sabotage," Timothy said.
Lejeune acknowledged "they could be targeted like any infrastructure could, but we take these things seriously". "I'm not sure I've heard of an onshore wind farm being specifically targeted at all in the UK," he added. Tristan Gale, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for planning, called the proposals "unprecedented in scale" adding the turbines "would be gargantuan and seen from miles around".
What do people think? Greg Gibbs claimed their home had dropped in value by 12% since the plans for the wind farm were made public Vattenfall has been holding three drop-in sessions in the vicinity of both Redmere and another proposed wind farm near Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, with letters being sent to local residents to invite them to attend. The BBC went along to the first session in Feltwell, Norfolk.
Greg and Amanda Gibbs said their home of 32 years would be "surrounded" by the wind farm. Amanda Gibbs questioned why solar panels were not being placed on factories and warehouses instead of grade one agricultural land, which is the best quality. "It's the same with the turbines.
They could be placed in industrial parks all over the country and they'd not be an issue," she said, adding she feared for the foundations of their house. Greg Gibbs claimed his "house price went down 12% overnight". Charlotte Cirillo said she was "not comfortable" with where the turbines were going, stating "they're quite close to our home".
"The noise is another factor we're worried about and just a blot on the landscape," she said, adding it was causing uncertainty. However, Nicki Tinsley said "we just wanted to see how close it was to our house, and it's very close". "We're quite happy with it, to be honest," she said.
"They've got to be somewhere and we think there's not that many houses around here, so I don't think this is going to be upsetting as many people as it could be if it was somewhere else." Linda and Kevin Mackender went to the session to find out more information Linda and Kevin Mackender, who already have solar panels, said they attended the session to find out more details about the plans, which appeared "fine" to them. Kevin Mackender added: "I wouldn't mind one in the backyard, to be honest, if I get free electric." When asked if he understood people's concerns, Kevin Mackender said: "Usually they're in the distance on a hill, aren't they? They don't affect many people.
But if it's in your vicinity then that's a different ball game. But I'm all for it." A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has previously said all onshore wind projects were "subject to a rigorous planning process". They added: "The views of the local community and impacts on the environment and land use are considered, including defence and security issues." Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire?
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Source: BBC
