‘People prefer to live near wind farm than nuclear or fracking site’

PEOPLE WOULD prefer to live near an onshore wind farm than a small-scale nuclear scheme or a fracking site, a new survey suggests.

Nearly two thirds – 65 per cent – would be happy with a wind farm within five miles of their home, while 24 per cent would be unhappy with one in their area, a YouGov survey of 1,660 people for climate campaign group 10:10 found.

But 61 per cent would be unhappy living near a fracking site, with only a fifth – 21 per cent – happy with the possibility.

And 62 per cent are unhappy with the idea of living within a few miles of a small modular nuclear reactor, smaller scale units which backers say could deliver electricity from nuclear at a lower cost than major schemes such as Hinkley Point C. Only a quarter of people would be happy with a small-scale reactor near their home, the poll found.

The Conservatives have moved to prevent new onshore wind farms being developed, arguing they “often fail to win public support”, while supporting fracking for shale gas and the development of the new small-scale nuclear technology.

Ellie Roberts , campaigner at 10:10 Climate Action, said the Government’s own survey data had already shown most British people would be happy to host wind farms in their neighbourhoods,

But she said the polling showed the opposite was true for fracking and small modular nuclear reactors.

She said: “Yet the Government has banned new wind power in England supposedly because people don’t want it, while forcing fracking on communities that have explicitly rejected it – and pouring hundreds of millions into small modular nuclear reactors that nobody wants to be within five miles of. It’s very difficult to understand the logic to this when the Government also admits that onshore wind energy should already be cheaper than gas or nuclear power in the UK. It is high time for the Government to think again about its de facto ban on our cheapest source of new electricity, onshore wind.”