Dear Madam, - On January 8 you reported the violent disintegration and collapse of an 80-metre wind turbine between Fintona and Fivemiletown in moderate winds. The debris from the turbine was scattered across a wide mountainous area and thankfully no one was injured. A few days later, a 30-metre blade flew off a turbine in County Kerry. Not long ago a 50- metre wind turbine collapsed near Glenties in Donegal and scattered debris over a wide area. In the wake of incidents like these it was reassuring to read that Fermanagh District councillors are alert to the ‘potential for real disaster’ of locating wind turbines too close to houses.

Sadly the Department of the Environment doesn’t appear to share our councillors’ health and safety concerns because it continues to override the minimum separation distance from dwellings set out in the DOE’s own Planning Policy (which generally requires a separation distance of 10 times rotor diameter to occupied property, with a minimum distance not less than 500m). For instance, the DOE has just published an announcement of full planning permission for a wind farm of five turbines, each turbine 120 metres tall, at Teiges Mountain near Brookeborough. This wind farm is close to at least four dwellings. It is much closer than the Planning Policy requirement of 10 times rotor diameter. Yet it has been approved in spite of this.

In their new Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Plan, councillors will need to take heed of health and safety concerns and ensure that all wind turbines are kept a safe distance away from homes.

Yours faithfully, Name and address supplied