Yahoo News Horse riding centre says it will have to 'close doors for good' amid wind farm plans
A Fylde Coast equitation centre has said it will be forced to close its doors after more than four decades over controversial plans for new offshore wind farms set to disrupt life in the area.
The wind farms are to be situated in the Irish Sea, with a series of cables connecting them to an existing electricity substation in Penwortham. Although residents see the benefit of introducing green energy, yesterday LancsLive reported on how locals feel about the plans, as they oppose the onshore section of the works.
This includes a cable corridor that will "rip through" greenbelt areas of land in the Fylde Coast - destroying farmland and wildlife habitats and disrupting tourism, as well as causing dust and noise pollution and an increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic. The plans are also set to affect businesses, namely Wrea Green Equitation Centre situated on Bryning Lane.
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Chris Pollit built the centre 43 years ago, describing it as her "baby". She was told plans would go ahead next door to her riding school, causing disruption and distress for the animals inside.
With evident emotion, Chris says the centre will have to close their doors for good for the sake of the horses if the plans are pushed through. With reference to recent events in London, where two horses from the Household Cavalry were seen bolting through the city's streets, she explained that the animals can be spooked by loud and unfamiliar noises, which will happen to her horses if building work goes ahead.
Chris said: "It's sixth sense is amazing, like a dog. So it feels vibrations, noise, smell, sight, much more than we do. If that gets wind of something, in a school where we may have five riders going around, it's fight or flight with a horse.
"It doesn't think, oh that's a new noise I wonder what that is? It bucks and runs like hell and they will run through a brick wall. If you've got three others in, they will follow because it's a herding instinct."
Roughly, the equitation centre accommodates 300 riders a week - offering sessions for the general public, disabled people from aged three and facilities for colleges and schools. However, with the compound being built next door to the centre, Chris says she will have no choice but to close due to the risk factor for the horses - her number one priority.
She added: "The activities within the indoor school, because it's so close, you hear every sound. We're on the top of the hill so you hear everything.
"The risk factor for the horses is that like with the Cavalry horses, a sudden noise and vibrations. We all felt the vibrations when they were testing the fracking and it was like an earthquake - is that going to be the same?
"How can we insure against that? We can't, that's the problem. Customers will probably, voluntarily drop like flies because of the risk factor."
Chris says they were informed test drilling will occur at the end of April, but as this deadline is surpassed, she feels apprehensive for their imminent arrival.
The activities on the border of the riding school are on the land owned by local farmers, namely the dad of resident Neil Critchley. The farmer said: "My dad is nearly 70 and he's too busy trying to get through to pay his feed bill every month and feed his cows, muck out and do his work to worry about fighting a legal battle against BP."
Works are set to be conducted on the land owned by Neil's dad, after being in their family for generations. "They're going to strip it and they're going to put a compound for heavy machinery," Neil explained.
"Apparently they're going to re-instate it, but that will take decades. It probably never will and it never will in my lifetime, I know that."
Asked how long farmland would take to get back to its original state, Neil replied: "30 to 50 years".
'Wider than the M55 motorway'
The plans for the wind farms are dubbed the Morgan and Morecambe Offshore Wind Farm, which includes two projects to be built in the Irish Sea. These will then be connected to the National Grid substation in Penwortham, transporting electricity which the company says will generate enough electricity for around two million homes.
Whilst locals are not opposed to this alternative form of energy, they are concerned with the onshore cables and substations, particularly as these are planned to effect greenbelt land. The cable corridor is set to be "wider than the M55 motorway" and one of two substations will be the size of 13 football pitches and over 23 metres in height.
Greenbelt land will be lost in Kirkham, Clifton, Newton and Freckleton and will cause disruption to local roads and railway. The substations are set to be built in close proximity to homes, schools and businesses and noise pollution from the "constant buzzing" will have an impact here.
Jonny Wilde lives in a village on the Fylde Coast, Newton, which is a focus point with a lot of the wind farm plans. He established the Facebook group, 'Against the Wind Farm Onshore Cable and Substation Plans across the Fylde' and created a petition to ban the wind farm development on greenbelt land which has amassed over 3,000 signatures.
For our previous article on the issue, LancsLive contacted Fylde Council, who stated their position on the plans haven't changed since November 2023, when objections were raised with the proposals and presented at that time. The council have not yet been made aware of any changes or further consultation on the scheme.
A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "A consultation relating to a forthcoming application by a private company to develop a new offshore windfarm across the Fylde Coast was carried out towards the end of 2023.
"During the consultation, we raised concerns about the impacts on ecology, particularly near the internationally protected areas of the Ribble estuary and the impact on the local highway network and other concerns.
“Our planning and transport officers highlighted that the proposal has the potential to cause significant disruption to residents during construction and any roadworks are likely to have significant knock-on effects to the wider network resulting in congestion. They also advised that information in the Lancashire Environmental Records Network should be taken into account, such as irreplaceable habitats, habitats of principal importance and protected and priority species that may be affected.
"As the proposal is classed as a 'nationally significant infrastructure project,' the application will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, who will review the application and make recommendations to the Secretary of State, who has the powers to grant or refuse development consent.
“However, the Planning Inspectorate's review process does include a process of public examination."
A spokesperson for Morgan and Morecambe said: "The Morgan Offshore Wind Project and the Morecambe Offshore Windfarm are two proposed offshore wind farms being developed in the Irish Sea. The two offshore wind farms intend to make an important contribution to the UK's target of generating 50GW of power from offshore wind by 2030.
"Combined they have the potential to generate almost 2GW of electricity - enough to power the equivalent of around two million homes. Since 2022, our project teams have held three rounds of consultation (both non-statutory and statutory) and we recognise that public consultation is a vital process, which gives the local community an opportunity to review our proposals, ask us questions and provide their feedback.
"All feedback we have received has been considered to date and helped inform our design process. We understand there are local concerns, and these will be addressed in due course. We intend to provide a further update on our plans over the coming months, before we submit our application, later in the year."
