Navitus Bay windfarm could be “iceberg waiting for a Titanic”, says Poole councillor

A Poole  councillor has questioned whether the Navitus Bay offshore windfarm could be “an iceberg off Poole Bay waiting for a Titanic?”

Poole councillor Tony Woodcock said although the consultation report mentioned clutter on radar displays at the airport, there was no clear mention of any effect on ships radar and navigational systems.

He said there was no study of the effect of the blade noise carried ashore by prevailing winds and no mitigation for 1.2 million migrating birds.

“In my view, the PEI (preliminary environmental information) study is unsound and the tourism survey is based on faulty information and so discredited,” he said.

However Borough of Poole has published its formal response to the public consultation being carried out by the company, commenting on the quality of the environmental information and tourism survey and the mitigation measures proposed to minimise environmental harm.

“The council at this stage is not being asked to say whether it supports or opposes the wind park,” said Cllr Mike White, cabinet portfolio holder for regeneration and inward investment.

“This is a technical stage to inform the final application and councillors have raised some issues that they would like Navitus Bay Development Ltd to address within their prospective application,” he said.

Cllr Brian Clements, chairman of the economy overview and scrutiny committee, said: “It is important that Navitus support their application with accurate and consistent data.

“We would encourage them to continue engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the public and statutory consultation is effective and informs the content of the final environmental assessment.

“They should look at the impact of all current off-shore wind farms, not just a selected few, so when their application is made we are confident that what we are being asked to consider meets current best practice guidelines.”