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Safety
There are very few wind turbines of the size proposed for Rushy Mead.
These are enormous. 426 feet tall.
The area is used by large numbers of ramblers, dog walkers, horse riders, runners, cyclists, and fishermen who fish on the River Loddon.
Animals can react badly to the movement of turbine blades, low frequency noise, and the shadows sweeping across the ground. The proposed site is right next to a much used bridleway. The British Horse Society have clear guidelines to ensure rider safety. These are explained and summmarised in advisory notes from the BHS here and here. The BHS recommends that turbines are placed at least 3 times their height from any bridleways - this would be a distance of almost 400 metres (about 1200 feet) in the case of the Rushy Mead proposal.
There are multiple reports of ice forming on turbine blades which is then flung long distances. The manufacturers of such blades claimed this can't happen. However, such events have been videoed despite these claims. The Rushy Mead Turbines would be right next to Byways, Bridleways, the M4, and within a few hundred meters of housing.
The proposed site is on a flood plain. In addition to the extensive concrete foundations for the turbines there will be a need for access roads to the turbines. This may cause an additional flood risk along the Loddon Valley effecting Shinfield, Arborfield, Lower earley, and Winnersh.
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