Storm fear forces end to turbines at schools
Victory for safety crusaders
WIND turbines are to be finally removed from schools after a number of incidents where blades have been ripped off during storms.
Highland Council has confirmed the move after protests by campaigners about the lack of a safety zone between the machines and pupils and staff.
Single turbines at four Caithness primary schools – Bower, Castletown, Crossroads and South – have already been removed and others in the region will follow.
The move f ol l ows numerous incidents involving faulty turbines, with a blade at Raasay Primary School becoming embedded in the ground after it collapsed.
Earlier this year, a three-year- old blade broke away from a windmill installed at Wick Industrial Estate after it was destroyed by a 40mph gust of wind.
another incident saw a turbine’s blades damaged so severely that debris from their destruction was scattered up to 60 yards away near a busy road.
No one was injured, but anti-turbine protesters claimed broken pieces were sent flying f rom the machinery, which is sited 230yds from the a836 near Thurso, close to the Dounreay nuclear plant.
Campaigners say the fate of the 85ft structure in Caithness shows that the turbines – which are now increasingly common in school grounds – are often unsafe.
Objectors had previously acknowledged t hat ‘ risk assessments’ were subsequently carried out by the council, but not prior to installation.
Turbines were i nstalled at 12 Highland schools. all but one – 140 yards from the school at the Scoraig peninsula in Wester Ross – will be removed.
The council said there was ‘ no question of it causing safety issues around the school’.
It is estimated that 14 councils – nearly half of Scotland’s 32 local authorities – had 24 functioning school-based turbines.
Many automatically ‘ disengage’ at wind speeds of about 60mph to protect their mechanisms but operators can also be told to switch them off when it gets too windy
Campaigner Brenda Herrick, from Thurso said: ‘I’m very pleased because now the children are safe, which they weren’t bef ore . The turbines should never have been there in the first place.
‘ There were so many council documents featuring guidelines stating they must have a “buffer zone” and they didn’t apply that to any of them.’
Highland Council has previously claimed that electricity turbines can operate safely at wind speeds up to 134mph.
But a council spokesman said: ‘ We have recently undertaken a revised risk assessment in accordance with Health a nd Safety Executive requirements.
‘We have taken all reasonable and practical measures to minimise the risks associated with having turbines in school grounds.
‘However, we have determined we cannot actively manage the perceived risks from turbines on school grounds and have decided to remove the turbines and relocate them.
‘This is not a trivial issue. This is about the safety of our children where they are educated – turbines are not an appropriate piece of industrial machinery t o have on s c hool premises.’
‘Not appropriate in school premises’