Turbine is causing sleepless nights

Fears over the health of his pregnant partner and unborn child is forcing a man to demand a wind turbine standing a stone's throw from his family's home is removed.

Andrew Randall lives in King's Dyke, Whittlesey, with his pregnant partner Rachel Barford and one-year-old daughter Aimee, just 100 yards from the towering machine.

He said the constant noise from the turning blades is causing sleepless nights and stress for Rachel, who is four months pregnant.

Mr Randall (23) said: "Rachel's stressed all the time and she can't cope with the lack of sleep. I'm concerned about the health of the baby.

"The noise sounds like a van running outside your house and this is going on 24/7. At about 8pm when the traffic dies down, everyone wants a nice bit of peace and quiet, but you've got this thing whirring away.

"We've got a hot tub in the back garden, but it's a waste because we can't go out there, it's just too noisy."

Rachel (19) said she is fed up with the constant noise and is angry that it is affecting Aimee.

She said: "She's waking up during the night, every night, and it's not fair on her."

She added: "We couldn't open the windows in the summer because it was that bad, and it's affecting our Sky TV reception. We shouldn't have to put up with it."

The huge machine, which measures 80m tall at its hub and 125m when one of its three blades is vertical, was put up in August.

The £2 million turbine belongs to Truro-based firm Cornwall Light & Power, and stands on land owned by Abbey Produce, whose warehouse on the site was destroyed by fire in February.

Mr Randall's neighbours have joined the fight and each household has logged a complaint with the Environmental Health department at Fenland District Council.

Bob Allum (73) said: "It should have been put up further back from the road and houses. These houses were here before the idea for that thing came about. It's inconsiderate."

Tyson Clark (38) owns King's Dyke Karpets, based yards from the turbine.

He said: "I think it's disgusting. It's intimidating to my customers and it's going to cause an accident one of these days.

"Drivers are always looking at it because it's so big and right next to the road. They just stare at it."

Head of construction management at Cornwall Light & Power John Mills said: "We are aware that some Whittlesey residents have raised concerns about noise from the nearby wind turbine. We take these concerns extremely seriously and are working closely with the local environmental protection officer to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

"At present we are working to establish when the problem is occurring, as it is likely that the issue arises when the wind is blowing in a particular direction and at a particular speed. Once we know when noise has been an issue we will review the options available to address residents' concerns.

"The affected residents have been asked to assist by keeping a record of times at which sound becomes a concern.

Alternatively, if it emerges that this is not practicable we will seek permission to install temporary noise monitoring devices on a local resident's property."

A spokesman for Fenland District Council said it is in liaison with both residents and Cornwall Light & Power to find a solution, and noise level checks will shortly be carried out.