Turbine at Sandwell Valley site put on ice by council
Multi-million pound plans for a 200ft wind turbine at West Bromwich's Sandwell Valley beauty spot have been put on ice by Sandwell Council.
The council believed it might provide electricity for up to 20,000 homes in blustery conditions but finance boss, Councillor Steve Eling, said it was no longer in current spending plans.
The Express & Star revealed yesterday that controversial plans for a 334ft wind turbine in Cannock were thrown out as Cannock Chase Council labelled it a "blot on the landscape".
The £2.6 million-£3 million Sandwell turbine, near Swan Pool, it was hoped, would pay for itself selling the National Grid energy.
Sandwell Valley senior countryside officer Malcolm Freeman said: "Whilst at Sandwell Valley we're keen to embrace projects that benefit the environment, we also have to balance that against retaining the park as a beauty spot."
Councillor Eling today said: "I gave an indication a while ago that if a business case was not submitted imminently any money allocated to the scheme would be withdrawn. It's certainly not on the spending plans we have at the moment."
Council bosses said at the time the location had sufficient wind flow and would not affect flight paths to Birmingham Airport or overhead power lines.
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