13:41 > Tuesday 9th February 2010
Bats put the wind up turbine plans
30 August 2007
PLANS to build a wind turbine in the grounds of a school could be blown away by a colony of bats.
Councillors at North Hertfordshire District Council's planning control committee meeting last Thursday voted in favour of plans by Hitchin Boys' School, in Grammar School Walk, to build a 12.45m high turbine near its border with Fishponds Road.
But before any work begins, a survey is to be carried out to determine whether any bats are present on the site.
At the meeting, former Hitchin councillor Jack Swain, of Fishponds Road, made a presentation to object to the proposed turbine.
He cited bats, as well as potential noise and worries about the chopping down of trees, as reasons behind his concerns.
Mr Swain, 70, said: "By law we must not affect bats roosting, or the sites that they are on and if there are bats in those trees then they will be affected.
"There has been a history of bats in this area for the last 20 years."
Adding to his comments yesterday (Wednesday), Mr Swain said: "It has been discovered that moss grows on the warm hubs of the turbines and the bats get attracted to the warm hubs and are hit by the blades."
In response to Mr Swain's comments at the meeting, a council officer said if there were any bats in the area, government environment department DEFRA could make an objection to the application.
Earlier this week, a council spokesman said if bats were found it would be unlikely that the application would fail. The spokesman said the council would work around the bats.
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