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Employment and local businesses
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Developers often argue that wind power stations will bring additional employment opportunities to local communities. Sadly, this is far from the truth.
During the construction phase, developers bring in specialist contractors from outside the area to carry out the key tasks. Occasionally they may employ local contractors temporarily for the less skilled tasks such as land drainage. But such employment lasts a few months at the most.
When the wind farm is linked to the national grid, it is monitored remotely from a control centre which will probably be responsible for several wind power stations. This control centre could be anywhere in the UK or indeed in the world. So no local employment there then.
Maintenance will be required on a regular basis, but much of this will be carried out by specialist contractors from outside the area. Some regular maintenance work may be performed by a farm employee, this however is infrequent and takes very little time.
In fact, for many communities, the construction of a wind power station leads to a net fall in employment, particularly where the local businesses depend on tourism or a rural environment.
Tourism and Hospitality
The hospitality-based businesses in and near Bickerton include pubs, B&Bs and hotels. Their business, and hence the employment they offer to local residents, depends significantly on the 50,000 or so visitors who come to Bickerton Hill and Cholmondeley Park every year to enjoy the unspoiled landscape and tranquillity of the area.
Organisations such as ...
... work hard to promote Bickerton Hill, Cholmondeley Park and the surrounding area as a tourist venue.
Developers claim that wind power stations are a visitor attraction; however, the few examples of such visitor centres in the UK have not lasted long.
In 2006, the Small Business Council commissioned a report on the impact of renewable energy on rural businesses. It revealed that:
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For 75% of rural visitors, the quality of landscape and countryside is the most important factor in choosing a destination
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Between 47% and 75% of visitors said that wind turbines damage the landscape quality
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And in North Devon, 11% said that wind turbines would deter visitors
For more information, click here.
More locally, interviews with a small sample of customers staying at a Bed & Breakfast establishment close to the proposed wind power station site indicated that 90% of them would be less likely to stay again if a wind power station was built.
In summary, a wind power station is likely to have a damaging effect on tourist businesses and the associated employment in and near Bickerton.
For further information about all the topics on this page, see "The Wind Farm Scam" by John Etherington.
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"A windfarm is not the answer"
Paul Kingsnorth,
The Guardian, 31st July, 2009
"Wind power is a complete disaster"
Michael Trebilcock,
National Post Canada,
April 8th, 2009
"Wind farms risk becoming 'redundant symbols' warns CPRE"
Louise Grey,
Environment Correspondent,
The Telegraph,
24th July, 2009
"How can wind turbines generate so much lunacy?"
Christopher Booker,
The Sunday Telegraph, 19th July, 2009
"When wind power blows, jobs will fall"
Dominic Lawson,
The Sunday Times,
19th July 2009
"Renewable Energy Strategy is Inconsistent and Implausible"
Dr John Constable, The Renewable Energy Foundation,15th July, 2009
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