Thursday 14 June 2007

Reference group up for discussion

Hepburn Shire Advocate
Wednesday 13/6/2007 Page: 8

Wind Power Pty Ltd has hailed its recent information day at Smeaton a success. Managing director Andrew Newbold said the meeting was a great opportunity to discuss the project with local residents. "We walked away with a better understanding of some of the community concerns.

These included loss of property values, noise, impacts on wildlife and loss of the visual amenity of the area," he said. "I hope that we were able to address these concerns by providing the facts about wind farms." About 45 people went on a bus lour to visit to Challicum Hills Wind Farm at Ararat on the same day. "After the visit some of the people who had been concerned about the noise of the turbines told me they were surprised at just how quiet the turbines were," Mr Newbold said.

He said Wind Power wanted to form a community reference group to discuss the location of the wind farms to try to reduce the impact on the important landscape values. "At this stage we are still preparing to lodge an application," he said. The CRG will meet on a monthly basis and will also be instrumental in keeping the community informed of any project developments.

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