“I’m Abandoning My Home Over Wind Turbine Illness”

Posted Category: Experiences

I’m Abandoning My Home Over Wind Turbine Illness” says Scottish resident Kay Siddell

Sunday Express 24th August, 2014

I’m abandoning my home over wind turbine illness

Credit: Paula Murray

A Pensioner is abandoning her Scottish dream home after more than a quarter of a century because wind turbines are making her life a “living hell”.

Kay Siddell, 69, and her husband John, 64, moved to their rural retreat at Old Dailly, near Girvan, Ayrshire, in 1988 to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside.

They saved for years to renovate their home, but after a 53 turbine wind farm, Hadyard Hill, was built, the pair put everything on hold.

For the past eight years they have tried to come to terms with the noise and visual impact, but now, with Mrs Siddell’s health failing and further turbines planned, they have finally decided to move away.

Remarkably, Mrs Siddell and her retired Army sergeant spouse plan to abandon the steading and a sizeable parcel of land in a bid to prevent any more wind farms being built.

The pensioner said: “The turbines are forcing us out. We don’t want to sell our property – which comes with 10 acres of land – because we object to wind farms and want to make sure the operators cannot buy this land for more turbines.

So rather than trying to sell our home we are just abandoning it in a bid to make sure at least that small area remains turbine free.”

The mother – of – one said there was an application to extend Hadyard Hill by another 55 turbines and planning permission to construct another 20 within the vicinity of their property.

She said: “That would bring the number to well over 100.

We already have the TV and radio on at all times to try and block out the noise. There’s the obvious noise you hear and the flicker which comes in, especially in the winter because of the low sun, and that’s terribly disturbing.

Then there’s the noise you can’t hear which is infrasound.

Within two weeks of the turbines being switched on in 2006 our cats refused to go out and eat or drink – eventually we had to put them down. I think it was because of the sensation or noise they got from the wind farm which we couldn’t feel or hear.”

Mrs Siddell, who used to work for the Ministry of Defence, is adamant the turbines are damaging her health – adding to the growing number of cases since the issue was first exposed by the Scottish Sunday Express.

She is even willing to have a biopsy to prove her internal organs have been damaged by low-frequency noise.

She said” “Air stewards and people working on ships develop a hardening in their internal organs related to the vibration brought on by infrasound.

I would like to have a biopsy to test if I have any signs of this vibroacoustic disease. If the evidence is there the only reason it would be there is the wind farm, as I’ve never worked on board planes and I am no cruise goer.

What’s magical with this marker is that it could not be anything but infrasound damage.

It could explain my stress levels which are causing other physiological problems.”

Using the money they saved for the planned renovation, the Siddells are now packing up their belongings and moving to England to be near their son.

The first removal load was due to leave their home last week, and the rest will follow soon.

Mrs Siddell said: “We were here long before any turbines went up. We always knew that because of our remote location, the day would come we would have to move out. However the day came much sooner than we expected because of the wind farm.”

Wind farm operators and trade groups insist there are no proven links between turbines and ill health.

Credit: Paula Murray, Sunday Express, Scotland

Turbines Are Making Me Ill, Too, Says Teresa Glen from Fife, in Scotland

By Paula Murray:  Sunday Express 17th August 2014

More people across Scotland have come forward complaining of “wind turbine syndrome” after the health fears were exposed by the Sunday Express.

Last week we revealed the Scottish Government has commissioned a survey into the impact of wind farms on communities, including any potential noise and health problems.

Former army captain Andrew Vivers, from Glamis, Angus, has been suffering from insomnia, tinnitus and dizzy spells since turbines were erected near his home, and he blames low-frequency noise, known as infrasound, for his deteriorating health. Now a number of others have echoed his story saying they feel as if they are being “tortured” out of their own homes.

Teresa Glen, 55, developed ear problems and migraines shortly after the Little Raith wind farm, near her home in Lochgelly, Fife, was switched on about a year and a half ago.

 

The grandmother developed tinnitus which feels like “constant screaming” in her head, and last year a specialist diagnosed “substantial damage” to her inner ear and significant hearing loss. Ms Glen, an artist, said: “The damage was akin to something a person who has worked in an industrial setting – like a factory – or on roadworks would be expected to have. “But I haven’t worked in either. The only explanation I have for this are the turbines.” Ms Glen said she also struggles to sleep at night, and she feels the presence of the wind farm constantly, yet Fife Council has turned down her request for a new home. She added: ”I am not the only one feeling the impact. There are people here who have been examined for dental issues after they developed a strange pain going down their cheekbones to their jaw. “I have the same and I know it’s nothing to do with teeth. Someone else here has epilepsy that has been under control but had a fit and fell down the stairs as a result. However, people are scared to speak out or they simply haven’t made the connection.” Ms Glen’s son, James, who lives nearby, believes his own daughter, six-year-old Amy, may also have been affected by the wind farm. He said: “We noticed she started to speak really loudly and also that her pronunciation was suffering. “There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her hearing, and after seeing a speech therapist she was fine – but the symptoms are coming back.” The nearest turbines to Ms Glen’s home are less than a mile away, but the wind farm, owned by Manchester-based Kennedy Renewables, has applied for an extension which would bring them within 900 metres.

Official guidance says turbines should be no closer than 2km – around 1.5 miles – to homes, and with Little Raith’s capacity set to rise up to 29MW, the distance should be at least 2.5km.  Ms Glen said: “It is bearable when it is a calm day, but when the wind’s howling for two or three days without a break it is just torture. However nobody wants to know. I feel so alone with this.”

Meanwhile, in Dumfries and Galloway a pensioner who is struggling to sleep, said she has no energy, feels tired and listless most of the time, and has developed higher blood pressure. The 71 year old, who asked not to be named, added: “I have lived here for a good many years and had no problems until the turbines went up. “It would be easy to put it down to old age, but I have lived with a railway line at the bottom of the garden before and with a major road next to me and never have I gone through anything like this.

“Captured soldiers were apparently tortured by the constant dripping of a tap, and that’s how I feel in many ways. With the march of the turbines I think Scotland will end up a nation of nervous wrecks.”

Linda Holt, of lobby group Scotland Against Spin, said more and more people are contacting them because they feel their health is being affected. Ms Holt added: “This problem will only increase as turbines grow in height and number, and creep closer to communities.  “Teresa is at the end of her tether. The turbines have literally invaded her home and her body, yet she is trapped because she lives in a council house and the council doesn’t want to know. “The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. The Scottish Government is manifestly failing in its duty towards people like Teresa. “Instead it defends the interests of a largely non-Scottish wind industry.”

But Niall Stuart, chief executive of Scottish Renewables, the industry trade body, said: “We are not aware of any peer-reviewed, robust scientific evidence linking wind turbines with ill health. “Moreover, developments will only get through the planning system if they meet strict international standards on noise. “Once projects are up and running they are monitored to ensure that they are complying with their planning permission.”

 

 

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