Brecon and Radnorshire Politician’s Fay Jones MP and James Evans MS have joined hundreds of residents in voicing concerns about plans to build a 60 kilometer stretch of pylons across the constituency.
Around 400 people attended the meeting on the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd. The meeting was hosted by the Countryside Alliance to discuss plans put forward by Scottish firm Bute Energy. The scheme – called Nant Mithil – would see 36 wind turbines erected in the Radnor Forest. The turbines would be over 220metres high – two thirds of the height of the Eiffel Tower.
Alongside the turbines, Bute Energy plans to create a network of electricity pylons stretching from Crossgates above Llandrindod Wells, across the Epynt and down towards Carmarthen.
During the meeting, residents heard from the Campaign to Protect Rural Wales who advised on how to create a steering group to campaign against the plans. CPRW, along with the Countryside Alliance, believes that if the wind farm must go ahead, the accompanying pylons and cables must be buried to avoid spoiling the landscape.
Since the meeting, Bute Energy have opened the plans to public consultation.
Ms Jones attended the Llanelwedd meeting and during the meeting commented:
“I am deeply concerned that Radnorshire is consistently looked at as attractive to energy firms. Radnorshire should not have to shoulder the burden of our energy challenge.
Nobody would dispute that we need to look at alternative solutions. Carpeting our outstanding countryside – right through the heart of Wales – with turbines and pylons is not the answer. When we need our land for food production, environmental delivery and for local communities to grow and thrive, we ought to be looking at other options including nuclear and tidal first.
The height of the proposed for the Nant Mithil Energy Park is deeply worrying. At 220m, this is double the height of the Hendy wind farm.
I particularly agreed with one lady who told the meeting that farmers were being asked to plant trees and rewild, while the Welsh Labour Government allows the mass industrialisation of the countryside. This should trouble all of us”.
Ms Jones has urged as many of her constituents as possible to engage with the consultation.
Signed the attached petition if you do not want to see wind turbines and pylons in Radnorshire.
James Evans MS shared Fay Jones MP's concerns.
“I am opposed to industrial scale Wind Farms & Pylons being installed here in Mid Wales. Nant Mithil is just the first stage of many possible developments in this area. I have, and will continue, to support small scale applications e.g. by family farms if they wish to erect a wind turbine for their own needs or specifically for a community use, but not these large scale industrial wind farms and over-ground pylons across Mid Wales that will decimate our beautiful area.
If the Nant Mithil development does go ahead, I will be calling for the power to be exported out via underground cabling. An 80km swathe of pylons to Pont Abraham will radically change our landscape and have a hugely detrimental effect on tourism and hospitality businesses, on farming and the wider rural economy. I am yet to hear any one in support of these pylons. We have seen initiatives in Snowdonia where they are removing pylons, yet these proposals are looking to introduce them in Mid Wales!
I will be raising this in the Senedd and with Welsh Government Ministers and should the Nant Mithil development get the go-ahead, I will call for the exporting of power out to be via underground cabling. I will also be calling for transparency and declarations of interest be made to highlight the connections between Welsh Government members and Bute Energy/Green GEN Cymru”
The consultation is available here https://www.greengentowyusk.com/index.php The first round of public consultation runs until Friday April 28th.
