Last summer, eight new neighbours were moved in near Julian and Jane Davis’ farm on the Lincolnshire fens.  The arrival of the 300ft wind turbines at sleepy Deeping St Nicholas came after a war of words and willpower between locals and developers.

South Holland District Council refused the application because of concerns over potential harm caused to the open land and skyscape.  It then went to a full public inquiry - much like the one now looming in Alnwick District, where 18 even bigger towers are planned.

While locals expressed their disapproval, those few voices in favour stressed that the environmental issues were more important than worries about the visual impact.  Applications for the turbines were ultimately granted by the planning inspector, who overruled the council.

For the objectors it spelled crushing defeat, for supporters it was a necessary step to halt global warming.  In 2006 the turbines were finally completed, the nearest just 900 metres from the Davis’ farmhouse.

Throughout the lengthy debate, the couple remained on the fence and were largely untroubled about the prospect of having a wind farm practically on their doorstep.  But for the past eight months, Julian and Jane say the repetitive thumping of air and humming of electric has blown away their peace.

“It’s very hard to describe how I’m feeling after nearly a year of living next to the turbines,” says Mr Davis, 42. “The biggest problem is the low frequency noise these things produce.  “It is not immediately noticeable, but once you hear it and feel the vibration, it begins to drive you mad.

“It’s just that little bit faster than the noise of a heartbeat, so your body is constantly racing to catch up. We’ve had friends who come to stay with us who don’t notice the noise and vibration at first, and think we’re exaggerating.

“It’s only after a couple of days that it becomes a constant irritation which you just can’t shake off.

“It’s always there in your head, and on the few occasions when it isn’t noticeable, your mind begins to search for it.”

Then there’s the second type of noise plaguing the Davises - the idling hum from the electric motor housed in the turbine shaft which starts the rotor and controls the air-conditioning.  It often gives way to what the Davises call “the WD-40 noise” - a grating sound similar to a badly-oiled engine.

And if the wind is blowing from the south, there’s yet another acoustic effect.  “It’s like the roar of traffic on the M62,” Mr Davis says.  “Sometimes it sounds like a train coming, but which never arrives.”

A log they have kept since the installation records that in the first 243 days of the wind farm’s operation, 231 nights have been disturbed.

They say that the effect on their lives is so bad that they have given up trying to sleep at the farmhouse. They say they have resorted to friends’ sofas, and a local hotel which, despite being next to a motorway, gave them their first proper night’s rest in many months.

But a longer-term solution has now been found - at a cost of £600 a month, the Davises are renting a second home, simply to sleep in.  “We’ve had to take drastic measures, but it’s a desperate situation,” Mr Davis says.

Both the local authority and the site operators say they are monitoring the situation.  Independent analysts have been brought in to assess the noise impact, but the council says that no breach of conditions is evident at this time.

In the meantime, however, new proposals have come to the fore - for 16 more wind turbines in Deeping St Nicholas.  On March 6, villagers spoke out at a special meeting of Deeping St Nicholas Parish Council.

The proposals, made by Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola, would add to the existing eight turbines, taking the number in the village to 24.  Mrs Davis told the meeting: “They don’t really understand how these large wind turbines interact with each other in a flat landscape. The research just hasn’t been done.

“If we have eight with another 16 behind them it would make even more noise.  “It can have a health impact and this is something which could affect more people.”

Residents agree that the village has already done its bit for the future of the planet.  A scoping report is now in the pipeline, which will likely be followed by an in-depth environmental impact assessment, which could take up to 18 months to complete.

For the Davises, however, it’s all too much to bear thinking about.  “It’s almost cost us our sanity,” says Mr Davis. “Our home is practically worthless, and to go on living like this would be unbearable. Life here has become a total nightmare.”

And subsequently in the Montrose Review - 17/May/07

Sir,  

For 11 months, Jane Davis and her family have suffered unbearable turbine noise which has peaked at 66dB.  Despite this, there is no breach of the wind turbine ETSU-R-97 guidelines. 

Last week, BBC Radio interviewed Jane Davis and then asked a spokesman for the turbine operators for his comments.  Trevor Gaits, speaking on behalf of Wind Prospect, described the Davis’s plight as “unfortunate” and stated firmly that their windfarm was “compliant with all current noise regulations" and "meets our planning permission requirement”.[1][1]  

The World Health Organisation recommends the level of continuous noise outside a dwelling should be 45 dB or less.  This means that the noise outside the Davis’ home can exceed this limit by 100 times.  (Increasing the dB level by 20 multiplies the noise level by 100. Thus the 66 dB measured at the Davis’ house is 100 times louder than the loudest continuous outdoor night time noise (45 dB) recommended by the World Health Organisation).[2][2]  

The Davis family are indeed “unfortunate”. 

There are 10 wind turbine developments proposed for Angus and there are in excess of 100 properties within a mile of the proposed Montreathmont and Rossie Moor turbines.   

Jane Davis was invited to speak about wind turbine noise problems at Farnell because local people believed it was essential that everyone understood just how disturbing turbines could be and that, once they were up, it might not be possible to resolve any noise problems. 

Farnell people listened in silence as Mrs Davis played a recording, made using BBC Radio 4 equipment, of the appalling noise audible from her back door.   The noise, she informed the meeting is present for 60% of the time and persists for at least a further 600m past her home – a noise which recently peaked at 66dB.  

This noise has forced them to rent a house just to sleep in and their £180,000 home is now worth just the value of the land.  Despite this appalling situation, there is no compensation and they have no remedy in law.  

A neighbour of the Michelin turbines in Dundee told the Farnell meeting of the unbearable noise that stopped him sleeping.  Similar, written warnings of turbine noise have also been sent to Angus Council from people living close to turbines at Crystal Rig, Glens of Foudland and Ireleth. 

A spokesman for Novera, the organisation who are proposing to erect the turbines at Rossie Moor, also addressed the meeting.  David Taylor sought to reassure everyone by reporting that acoustic consultants, Hayes McKenzie had been engaged to advise both themselves and Angus Council.  Mr Taylor went on to say that as a result of their “360 degree” acoustic monitoring, he was “absolutely certain the noise emanating from the proposed turbines would not breach standards” and he was sure that planning conditions placed on their development would also protect neighbours from noise.   

Mr Taylor was almost paraphrasing the above comments made by the developer of the windfarm at the Davis’ home.  Yes, Mr Taylor, I believe you.  I am sure no matter what noise your turbines may make, it is unlikely it will “breach standards” or any planning conditions placed on them.   This is one of the reasons why there are calls for changes to the outdated ETSU-R-97 guidelines. 

Mrs Davis warned that currently the wind industry was unable to reliably predict whether or not neighbouring property would be affected by noise.  This was borne out by recent reports which suggest that noise problems exist at approximately 10-12% of wind turbine sites in the UK.  She stated that until the science was better understood, the UK should follow the French example and ensure that a minimum distance of 2km was maintained between properties and turbines.  

Wind Prospect, the developer of the proposed Montreathmont turbines did not come to Farnell to meet Mrs Davis and reassure the people living in the 70 plus properties within a mile of its 19 proposed turbines.   

Is it possible that their absence had anything to do with the fact that they are the same developers who were responsible for erecting the turbines in the Davis’s ‘back yard’?

F I Ainslie, West Cottage, St Murdoch's Well, By Brechin, Angus, DD9 6ST.