Filey Golf Club seeks permission for 15m wind turbine to combat ‘explosive rise’ in energy costs

A 15m wind turbine could be erected at Filey Golf Club if the plan is approved by North Yorkshire Council.

Filey Golf Club has submitted a planning application for the erection of a 15-metre wind turbine in order to make savings amid “the explosive rise in energy costs”.

The applicant has proposed a two-blade slow-turning rotor that is mounted on a lattice or cage mast with a gearbox which would allow for the reduction of the blades’ turning speed.

The proposed height of 15m is “the smallest available” and “any lesser height” would result in a significant reduction in the turbine’s power output, according to submitted documents.

Filey Golf Club said: “Like all business operations at present, costs are going up and revenue is stressed.

“[We] cannot respond to economic hard times by simply putting prices up – it would mean fewer people wanting or being able to play and would start a downward spiral of diminishing income.”

Documents submitted by David Perkins on behalf of the golf club state both wind and solar power were considered but concluded that the former was preferable as it would take up less space and was considered more visually appealing.

The application states: “Many solar arrays are sited out of view as far as possible but this could not be done as all parts of the club are in use.

“A wind turbine on the other hand takes virtually no space and can be considered to be quite attractive, at least by some, and it also echoes the past with windmills and lighthouses.”

A report or recommendations on the scheme have not yet been published by the local planning authority, but pre-application advice indicated that a “solid tubular mast and a fast-turning three-blade rotor was considered inappropriate”.

With regard to the proposed turbine’s visual impact, Filey Golf Club said that “as the mast is so small and so close to the clubhouse with which it will be seen, it does not appear there will be an adverse impact”.

According to the submitted plans, Filey Town Council was approached by the applicant for its views, but the town council “declined to comment unless or until the proposal became a formal application”.

The scheme is currently pending consideration with the local planning authority.