Wind turbine threat to airport safety

AN 18 metre high wind turbine at Appleton could confuse air traffic controllers at Manchester Airport, leading to pilots receiving wrong information, a planning inspector has ruled.
He has thrown out an appeal against the refusal of planning consent for the turbine and awarded costs against the appellant because he pursued his appeal in an unreasonable manner.
The appeal related to a plan to erect a wind turbine at Oaklegh Lodge Farm, Barleycastle Lane, Appleton to provide electricity for a home and smallholding.
Borough planners had earlier refused consent for the development.
The appellant argued that the turbine would be sited 40 degrees off the runway alignment and planes approaching the airport flew at high altitude over his property.
But technical information submitted by the National Air Traffic Services suggested that air traffic controllers would see an X on their screens which would be indistinguishable from an aircraft.
Such an unexpected reading could lead to planes receiving instructions to take avoiding action at a busy and critical location.
The inspector concluded the scheme was “totally unacceptable.”
Andy Farrall, the borough’s director of environment and regeneration, said costs had been awarded to the council because the appellant had pursued the appeal in an unreasonable manner because his evidence failed to show that the scheme would not affect the safe operation of the airport’s radar system.
The appellant had also refused to reduce or reposition the turbine to overcome the problem even though the council had notified him the application had no reasonable prospect of success.