Proposed 300-metre high wind turbines would “destroy” the island’s iconic seascapes and be visible from 20 of the island’s 25 highest fells, a public hearing has heard.
Maughold resident Pam Kerruish told the MIMA panel that the turbines would cause irreversible visual damage to an area known as Charlie’s View, a memorial site for her parents including her father Sir Charles Kerruish.
“The proposed turbines would destroy the sea views and the night sky on the horizon,” Kerruish said. “They would simply block our sea views totally.”
She described how the family farmland looks over the Irish Sea towards England, Scotland and Wales. “It’s very common to see the English and Scottish coastlines, sometimes with spectacular clarity,” she said.
Dotted
Fellow resident Martin Cubbon said that the visual impact would extend far beyond the coastline.
Mr Cubbon said: “There are 25 fells over 1000 feet on the Isle of Man. They’re dotted all over the island, principally in the north, and I’ve climbed all of them. From 20 of them, you will be able to see these windmills.”
He added: “It’s not just the people who are walking the coastal path or driving along the coastal roads. It will be anyone who tramps the fells of the Isle of Man, and that’s a lot of people.”
Richard Henthorn recommended the examining body visit Clay Head Road, saying the proposed “industrial installation would really pretty much destroy that” view, which “does really enhance that feeling of an island nation.”