Residents have erupted in anger over plans for giant wind turbines taller than Blackpool Tower on a ridge in rural Conwy.<\/p>\n
Fury is growing after proposals emerged to erect five 180-metre turbines on Mynydd Tryfan which would be the tallest ever built on land in North Wales.<\/p>\n
The huge structures would stand around 20 metres higher than Blackpool Tower, dramatically altering the skyline above communities between Bryn Rhyd yr Arian and Bylchau.<\/p>\n
Locals say they were blindsided when details of the scheme leaked just weeks ago, despite the project reportedly being under consideration for up to a year.<\/p>\n
Now a protest group has been formed and is vowing to fight the plan amid fears over noise, visual impact and damage to the environment.<\/p>\n
Campaigners are particularly incensed that the application will bypass Conwy Council and instead be decided by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) as a development of National Significance.<\/p>\n
The group claim the move sidelines local voices and accuse decision-makers of \u201criding roughshod\u201d over rural communities.<\/p>\n
More than 200 people packed into Llansannan Village Hall where there was standing room only for the group\u2019s first meeting led by local GP Dr Steve Newton.<\/p>\n
Dr Newton said: \u201cWe only heard about it by chance in March when it popped up at a Conwy Council planning committee and the feasibility study was started around 12 months ago and we think PEDW would have known about it since December.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve organised fast and have already sent out over 300 leaflets to local residents and I\u2019ve visited 100 homes myself in the local area and feelings are running high.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially true at Tan Tryfan Fawr Farm where Tomos Griffiths is the fourth generation of his family to make a living on the 300 acres of upland where he keeps sheep and a dairy herd.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThey\u2019re going to put five turbines on the ridge above the farm \u2013 you can see Blackpool Tower from up there but the turbines will be taller than the tower.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll be able to hear them all the time and we\u2019ll be right beneath them. There are plenty of turbines around Llyn Brenig but they\u2019re only 110 metres high \u2013 these are much bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the man who owns the land but he lives in Betws y Coed so it won\u2019t bother him \u2013 we\u2019ll have to live with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of size, this is just the wrong site for any turbines because even smaller ones would be a ruinous blight on the landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s even worse is that it\u2019s likely that they would want to erect huge, ugly pylons to connect to the National Grid.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other side of the proposed site on Mynydd Tryfan feeling are also running high as longtime resident Hywel Jones explains: \u201cOnce they get their first turbines up there they won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be getting enough power from offshore wind turbines so no more onshore\u00a0turbines will be required\u00a0but\u00a0they just want to ride roughshod over us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kate Wright\u2019s converted farmhouse is one of the closest properties to the proposed site of the turbines and she said: \u201cA neighbour told me about it about a month ago \u2013 until then we had no information from the landowner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does seem that they want to push it through before the end of the year or it might be more difficult for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been here for 13 years and it\u2019s very worrying. It\u2019s a beautiful area with lovely views and that\u2019s why we moved here but now it seems as if that could all come crashing down. It\u2019s very stressful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe access up here isn\u2019t easy so I can\u2019t imagine how they\u2019re going to get turbines nearly 600ft tall up these narrow country lanes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Newton added: \u201cThere will be pre-planning application consultation in August with a public consultation and opportunity to meet the wind farm company when we can voice our views before the final application comes out in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does seem as if it\u2019s being railroaded through but there are only a handful of properties in the UK that are as close to a wind farm as people like Kate are here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are trying to get it through by December because if they don\u2019t it could go to the local planning authority who may oppose it so it\u2019s a race against time for them too.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew legislation from 2027 means that a development must be for over 50 megawatts of power for it to be decided by PEDW but Mynydd Tryfan will only add up to 24 megawatts so they are planning to link it to a similar proposal at Gwytherin but even then it only adds up to 48 megawatts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working with CPRW, the Welsh countryside charity, to find specialist consultants to help us prepare a case against the proposal but in the meantime we are working to build local support and planning to do more leafletting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fight starts here and we need to get ahead of the curve by knocking on doors and posting leaflets and so far with one or two exceptions people are horrified by the plans and appalled by the impact it will have on the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about the proposals go to <\/strong>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/mynyddtryfan<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n