S M A R T SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE THE BLIMP FLIGHTS PROPOSED CROWN HILL WIND FARM 14/00397/FUL CH3

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1 S M A R T SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE THE BLIMP FLIGHTS PROPOSED CROWN HILL WIND FARM 14/00397/FUL CH3

2 The Blimp Flights Contents 1. Introduction 2. The blimp and the launch site 3. Photographic record of the blimp flights 4. The blimp and SMART's calculated wind turbine visualisations 5. Conclusions drawn from the blimp flights Appendices Table of the blimp flights CD version of this report (pdf) 1

3 The Blimp Flights 1. Introduction SMART flew a blimp over two days, the 20 th June and the 21 st June 2014, at the former Melton Airfield where Wind Ventures propose to install four 130m high wind turbines 1. The purpose of flying the blimp was three-fold:- i) To inform the public about the visual impact of just one of the proposed turbines ii) To assess the validity of the applicants Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) iii) To confirm that SMARTS s visualisation modelling is robust In contrast to Wind Ventures' claims to listen to feedback from the community, they had refused to fly a blimp themselves when requested to do so both by SMART and by the Rutland & Melton MP, Sir Alan Duncan. It was only due to the generous intervention of a local benefactor that SMART was able to meet the very significant cost involved. SMART widely advertised the blimp flights through leaflet drops across Melton Mowbray and the surrounding villages as well as on the SMART web page. Wind Ventures justified their refusal on the grounds that a blimp is not a true representation of a wind turbine. We do not disagree but the exercise nevertheless provided a more meaningful indication of the turbines' true height than the visualisations submitted by Wind Ventures with their planning application. That the true visual impact of the wind turbines could not be addressed by the blimp was in part because of the relatively small size and scale of the blimp itself. It was also because a blimp gives no indication of impacts resulting from rotation of the blades. Neither does it provide any information about noise levels nor shadow flicker. Not least, the blimp only provided a single example of the height instead of the four that would be required to represent all of the proposed turbines. However, as the front cover picture shows, the blimp nevertheless provides a striking indication of the proposed height of these turbines; note also a helicopter in the image. It was therefore not surprising that in order to fly the blimp approval had to be gained from the Civil Aviation Authority and that many observers commented that I had no idea that they (the turbines) would be that high. In this report we have included some 25 photographs of the blimp taken from a variety of locations as indicated in the map provided in Figure 0. They are highlighted by yellow stars. Four of these locations have also been used to provide a comparison with technical visualisations generated according to the procedures identified in Appendix No.9 of the SMART Objection document, Technical Annex on Visualisations. These are highlighted by orange stars and an additional subscript to the location site reference. Summarized details of all of the locations are provided in the accompanying Table 1 which is further supported by road references, distances from the launch site and latitude/longitude co-ordinate data in the table provided in Appendix 1. 1 The Crown Hill Wind farm 2

Figure 0: Approximate blimp view locations* Support notes* 1) The 25 yellow stars indicate approximate locations where blimp photographs were taken 2) The four orange stars indicate locations where

4 Figure 0: Approximate blimp view locations* Support notes* 1) The 25 yellow stars indicate approximate locations where blimp photographs were taken 2) The four orange stars indicate locations where the blimp images have been supported by technical visualisations and these are provided towards the end of the report 3) General details on the specific locations are supplied in the accompanying Table 1 4) Further details and the co-ordinates of each location are provided in Appendix 1. 3

5 Table 1: Representative locations selected for images of the blimp Figure Location Reference Where Why No. Region Number Example blimp images 0 Melton - View points within 7.5km of Melton Mowbray Overview 1 &1a 1 Launch site (107m from T2) Information Melton 2 2 Further down the runway from the B6047 Wind drift calculation Airfield 3 3 From runway at B6047 end Closest full image 4 4 Near Hercocks Builders merchants Road accidents Melton 5 5 Between Swallowdale & Queensway Visibility South 6 6 Jct. Sandy/Kirby Lanes Visibility/Dominance 7 Melton 7 Scalford Rd. opposite Co-op Visibility 8 Central 8 St. Mary's church tower - looking south Heritage/Tourism 9 Melton 9 The Crescent - looking south Visibility 10 North 10 Footpath between Horseguards Way & Elmhurst Ave. Visibility Grantham Rd. -South of Waltham; North of Rectory Visibility - approach 12 Melton East 12 Grantham Rd. Near Melton Golf Club Visibility - approach Melton Spinney Rd. Near TwinLakes Tourism 14 Melton West 14 Jct. Melton Rd. with Kirby Lane - looking south east Road accidents 15 Burton Lazars 15 St. James' Church - corner of Cross Lane with A606 Heritage 16 Burrough 16 Burrough Hill Fort rampart looking north Heritage/Tourism 17 Eye Kettleby 17 Eye Kettleby Lakes - looking south east Tourism Southern entrance to village Road accidents Northern exit from village Road accidents Village Green Heritage 21 Great Dalby 21 Central footpaths Visibility/Dominance Southern footpaths Heritage "Montrose" bungalow- nearest property to south Visibility/Dominance "March Farm" - nearest property to west Visibility/Dominance 25 Kirby Bellars 25 Footpath to St. Peters church Heritage Example comparative images of blimp & technical visualisations 26 Airfield 3 End of runway Closest full image 27 Melton 8 St. Mary's church tower - looking south Heritage/Tourism 28 18a Southern entrance to village Road accidents Great Dalby 29 24a "March Farm" - nearest property to west Visibility/Dominance 2. The blimp and the launch site The blimp launch site was at the same elevation and as close as possible (108m) to the proposed position of turbine T2, which at the time would have been within a cultivated field. Figure 1 is a Google Earth representation of the site referenced to Dalby Road and the proposed position of turbine T2. 4

Launch location 108m from T2 Launch site distance 0.00 miles Blimp Launch Site Figure1: The blimp launch site Figure 1a shows the blimp being inflated.

The red cover and fins assist in providing the visual presence in the sky.

6 Launch location 108m from T2 Launch site distance 0.00 miles Blimp Launch Site Figure1: The blimp launch site Figure 1a shows the blimp being inflated. The blimp at just 6m (20ft) long was the largest that was available but proved to have low visibility at the great height at which it had to be flown. The red cover and fins assist in providing the visual presence in the sky. Figure 1a: Preparing the blimp for launch The maximum height the blimp could be flown (to the top of the blimp) was 126m (414ft) on a measured guy-line. This was 2.6% lower than the required height given in the turbine proposal at 130m (425ft). Wind socks were located at the nominal hub height and blade base, but these were difficult to spot except at the airfield as they were unfortunately just too small. Further, the relative positions of these were not in the same 5

7 proportions as those provided in the applicant s proposal. Drift in the wind on occasion caused the height to be further reduced. From an image, Figure 2, taken on the first day, an example value of 118m/386ft was estimated from the geometry, resulting in an overall shortfall in height in the region of 10% (12m or 40ft short). Similar rounded calculations indicate the percentage differences under windy conditions between the blimp heights and the proposed turbine heights for the hub and base of the turbine. Blimp view location 2 - Runway at B6047 Top of blade 118m/386ft (10% low) Hub Height 76m/248ft (5% low) Bottom of blade 34m/110ft (10% high) 50m 150m Launch site distance 150m/0.09 miles Figure 2: Calculation of blimp height due to wind drift (First day) 6

8 Table 2 summarizes the height data for the turbine proposal, the blimp under light wind conditions (that are referred to later in section 4) and under the example wind conditions shown in Figure 2. Table 2: Comparative heights of the blimp under two wind conditions Comparative Proposed Blimp under two wind conditions and % variance with proposal component Turbine T2 Moderate wind (Figure 2) Light wind (Figure 26) heights Ft m Ft m % Ft m % Blade (top) Low Low Hub Low High Blade (lower) High High 3. Photographic record of the blimp flights In order to understand the information provided in the following figures there are a few comments worth presenting as follows:- The distances quoted are to the blimp launch site and not to turbine T2. Each image is referenced by location to the map and tables provided. Each image is provided with a brief commentary. A blimp can only indicate the highest point of a turbine. It cannot fully represent a turbine's visual impact on account of their sheer size and the rotation of the blades. In practice, drift in the wind caused the blimp height to be reduced with typical values of 118m (386ft) achieved. The photographs may therefore under-represent the visual impact of a 130m turbine by some 9%. The blimp was just 6m (20ft) long and the wind socks were much smaller. In contrast the diameter of each turbine would be 100m (328ft), more than 16 times bigger than the blimp. As a consequence, visibility at this height was somewhat difficult when viewed from most locations except for the airfield itself. The actual turbines, of course, would be highly visible because of their sheer size and the fact that they also rotate. Consequently, in the following images the blimp is identified by enclosing it in a circle and the wind socks are not depicted. The blimp shape may be determined by zooming into the image electronically on the pdf version of this report. Except in a couple of identified locations where the actual focal length is noted, the images were taken with the same camera at a 52mm focal length (35mm equivalent). This is the same as used by SMART in all visualisation simulations Where people are potentially identifiable in the images their consent has been given for those images to be included in this report. 7

9 Figure 3: View from the east looking back down the runway from the B6047 indicates just how tall each of the turbines would be. 8

10 Launch site distance 1km/0.63 miles Blimp view location 4 B6047 Near Hercocks looking south Figure 4: View from the northern edge of the airfield which includes the turning to the House Wendover, William Hercock Builder s Merchant and other facilities Launch site distance 2.1km/1.31 miles Blimp view location 5 B6047 Near Swallowdale Rd. looking south Figure 5: The turbines would appear prominent to residents in south Melton 9

housing area where a strategic urban extension is proposed. Launch site distance 4km/2.

11 Launch site distance 1.9km/1.19 miles Blimp view location 6 Jct. Sandy & Kirby lanes - looking south Figure 6: Impact on the southern edge of Melton Mowbray housing area where a strategic urban extension is proposed. Launch site distance 4km/2.52 miles Blimp view location 7 Co-op Scalford Rd. Figure 7: The wind farm would be very conspicuous in Melton Mowbray town centre 10

12 Figure 8: The wind farm would be prominent in views south from St. Mary s church tower Figure 9: Visitors to Melton Mowbray s Cattle Market will experience this view 11

13 Blimp view location 10 Horseguards Way to Elmhurst Ave. footpath looking south Launch site distance 4.8km/3.00 miles Figure 10: The wind farm would be prominent in north Melton Launch site distance 9km/5.63 miles Blimp view location 11 A607 looking south west Figure 11: Even at a distance of 9km the wind farm would be conspicuous on approaches to Melton Mowbray 12

Club entrance Launch site distance 5.7km/3.

14 Blimp view location 12 A607 outside Golf Club looking south Launch site distance 6.6km/4.08 miles Nb. Equiv. focal length in this image is only 30mm instead of 52mm Figure 12: Potential for driver distraction at the Golf Club entrance Launch site distance 5.7km/3.53miles Blimp view location 13 near entrance to Twinlakes - looking south Figure 13: Visitors to Twinlakes Family Theme Park would be confronted by views of the wind farm turbines 13

jct - looking south east Figure 14: There is a

junction Blimp view location 15 Burton Lazars near St

15 Launch site distance 3km/1.88 miles Blimp view location 14 near A607-Kirby Road jct - looking south east Figure 14: There is a significant history of casualty accidents at this junction Blimp view location 15 Burton Lazars near St James church, looking west Launch site distance 2.2km/1.38 miles Across the side road (Cross Lane) to A606 Oakham Rd adjacent Burton Lazars church Figure 15: St. James church is a Grade I listed building 14

Figure 16: Burrough Iron Age Hill Fort -views from a key tourist and heritage attraction would be adversely impacted by the four turbines visible above the distant horizon Launch site distance 1.

16 Figure 16: Burrough Iron Age Hill Fort -views from a key tourist and heritage attraction would be adversely impacted by the four turbines visible above the distant horizon Launch site distance 1.4km/0.88 miles Blimp view location 17 near the Eye Kettleby turbine Figure 17: The 35m local turbine contributes to a sustainable rural tourist business which would be adversely impacted by the 130m industrial sized turbines less than a mile away. 15

Figure 18: Potential for driver distraction at this bend Figure 19: Further

17 Launch site distance 1.6km/0.99 miles Blimp view location 18 B6074 southern entrance to Great Dalby Figure 18: Potential for driver distraction at this bend Figure 19: Further potential for distraction. Within 2 metres the turbines would be revealed from behind the trees as drivers ascend the hill 16

18 Figure 20: The proposed turbines would be very prominent in the village of Great Dalby (a designated conservation area) Figure 21: The turbines would be prominent in views from the central footpaths through open pasture which form a key and unusual feature of Great Dalby village 17

proposed turbines Blimp view location 23 Montrose Nearest house to turbines to the north of

19 Figure 22: The setting of St. Swithun s church and listed buildings would be adversely impacted by the presence of the proposed turbines Blimp view location 23 Montrose Nearest house to turbines to the north of Great Dalby Launch site distance 0.82km/0.51 miles Figure23: The residents of Montrose will experience a particularly adverse impact from the proposed wind farm 18

Figure 24: The residents of March House will also experience a particularly adverse

20 Launch site distance 1.2km/0.76 miles Blimp view location 24 March House nearest to turbines Great Dalby west Figure 24: The residents of March House will also experience a particularly adverse impact Figure 25: The blimp is visible (top left of image) from the footpath to the important Garden, Moat and Fishponds ancient scheduled monument 19

21 4. The blimp and SMART's calculated wind turbine visualisations An objective of the blimp flights was to compare the images collected against the technical visualisations that have been produced previously by SMART according to the processes described in the Technical Visualisations Appendix to the SMART objections document 2. Four representative examples, at blimp locations 3, 8, 18a and 24a are presented in this section. Since time was at a premium when taking pictures of the blimp there was not sufficient time to set up a camera to the positional accuracy required as when producing images for technical visualisations and hence the distinguishing subscript has been added to the location references. Using a blimp image to generate a turbine visualisation carries with it a level of uncertainty that does not arise for an image produced for the technical visualisations. Therefore the following turbine simulation images are of two types:- First image approach Locations 3, 8 and 18a Blimp image locations were selected where the data is considered sufficient to provide a reasonable foundation for constructing a superimposed turbine image onto the blimp photo. The photo and processing were undertaken using the standard conditions given in the technical visualisation document. Both 30 and 52mm focal length equivalents were used in this analysis. Location 3 - Airfield The first image is from location 3 which shows a turbine represented at the blimp site at the B6047 end of the runway. This image is similar to Figure 2 but was taken on the second day from the opposite direction when the wind was much lighter and consequently the blimp tether line was more vertical (about 2 degrees from vertical). The overall height of the turbine is seen to be somewhat higher than the blimp as predicted previously in Table 2 for light wind conditions and the blimp hub sock is also a little higher than that of the turbine hub as also predicted. The actual lower blade sock of the blimp cannot be seen as it is overlaid by the simulated turbine but its location is identified in the figure and again, as predicted, it is higher than for the proposed turbine. Only in this instance did the camera have an equivalent 35mm focal length of 30mm as there was sufficient information available to determine the sizing of the turbine. Two approaches were adopted to estimate the turbine size. From the technical visualisation calculations, with a distance of 170 metres from the launch site, the turbine size is as shown in Figure 26. There is a small uncertainty in the actual distance which could be a metre or two less, in which case the impact would be a slightly larger turbine image. The second approach was to proportion the height of the turbine (130m) relative to the height of the top of the blimp (126m corrected for the 2 degree vertical offset). This resulted in the same sized image as shown, providing confidence in the approaches adopted. 2 The Proposed Crown Hill Wind Farm; Planning Application 14/00397/FUL 20

Figure 26: Location 3 as would be seen from the B6047 if the turbine were located at the blimp launch site Location 8 - St. Mary s church tower The second image selected is location 8 which shows St.

22 Figure 26: Location 3 as would be seen from the B6047 if the turbine were located at the blimp launch site Location 8 - St. Mary s church tower The second image selected is location 8 which shows St. Mary s church tower in the centre of Melton Mowbray, as shown in Figure 27. This demonstrates that the turbines would certainly impact the view seen from the tower which is accessible to the public. 21

the approach road to Great Dalby which descends from a small rise followed by a sharp left hand bend.

23 Figure 27: Location 8a St. Mary s church tower - blimp image overlaid with turbine images Location 18a -Southern entrance to Great Dalby The third image selected is the approach road to Great Dalby which descends from a small rise followed by a sharp left hand bend. It has been established that the turbines are unlikely to be visible for several miles prior to this location as the road is protected by high hedges. Drivers would therefore be confronted by the turbines on a dangerous bend. Figure 28: Location 18a Southern entrance to Great Dalby 22

Second image approach Location 24a The second approach is where the location of a previously constructed visualisation is extremely close to the location of the blimp image.

24 Second image approach Location 24a The second approach is where the location of a previously constructed visualisation is extremely close to the location of the blimp image. In this approach both images are presented for comparison, and in this case the selected image location is March House located on Kirby Road to the west of Great Dalby. The camera was set to a 35mm equivalent focal length of 52mm. Here the comparison should be made between the previous Figure 24 and Figure 29 shown below. Figure 29: Location 24a - March House in Great Dalby 5. Conclusions drawn from the blimp flights The photographic record of the blimp flights suggests that the proposed wind turbines would have a significant visual impact in the ZTV and would be prominent in many important views. Comparisons with SMART's turbine visualisations confirm their validity. (We have included four representative examples in section four of this report.) Taken together, the visualisations and the blimp provide a realistic impression of the scale of the proposed turbines which can be readily understood both by the public and by decision-makers. 23

25 Appendix 1. Table of images and support data Distance from Launch Figure Location Reference Road Latitude Longitude Site Where Why No. Region Number ref. Metres Miles Degrees Degrees 0 Melton borough 1 & 1a 1 2 Melton Airfield - 2 Map of view points within 7.5km of Melton Mowbray Launch site location and ground zero view of blimp Further down the runway from the B6047 Example blimp images 24 Overview Information & Google Earth view Wind drift calculation B B From runway at B6047 end Closest full image B Near Hercocks Builders 4 4 Road accidents B merchants Melton Between Swallowdale & 5 5 Visibility B south Queensway Visibility/ 6 6 Jct. Sandy/Kirby Lanes Dominance Scalford 7 7 Scalford Rd. opposite Co-op Visibility Melton Road Central St. Mary's church tower Heritage/ Tourism A looking south The 9 9 The Crescent - looking south Visibility Melton Crescent North Footpath between Visibility Horseguards Way & Elmhurst Grantham Rd. -South of Visibility A Waltham; North of Rectory approach Melton Grantham Rd. Near Melton Golf Visibility A East Club approach Melton Spinney Rd. Near Melton Tourism TwinLakes Spinney Melton Jct. Melton Rd. with Kirby Lane Road accidents A West looking south east Burton St. James' Church - corner of Heritage A Lazars Cross Lane with A606 Burrough Hill Fort rampart 16 Burrough 16 Heritage/ Tourism looking north Eye Eye Kettleby Lakes - looking Kirby Tourism Kettleby south east Lane Southern entrance to village Road accidents B Northern exit from village Road accidents B Village Green Heritage B Great Central footpaths Dalby Visibility/ Dominance Southern footpaths Heritage Kirby Bellars "Montrose" bungalow- nearest property to south "March Farm" - nearest property to west Visibility/ Dominance Visibility/ Dominance B Kirby Road Footpath to St. Peters church Heritage Example comparative images of blimp & technical visualisations 26 Airfield 3 End of runway Closest full image B Melton Central 8 St. Mary's church tower - looking south Heritage/Tourism A a Southern entrance to village Road accidents B Great Dalby "March Farm" - nearest Visibility/ Kirby 29 24a property to west Ddominance Road

26 Appendix II The Blimp Flights CD Version of report (Pdf) 25

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