Turbines voted a city attraction

Opinion poll

Do you think wind turbines add interest to Palmerston North’s landscape?

Yes, I think they’re part of the city’s identity

They don’t bother me

No, they’re a blight on the countryside

Vote Result

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Wind farms add interest to the city's landscape, a new email survey has found.

An email survey of 226 people by the Palmerston North City Council found that most people like having wind farms in the city.

The results, which will be used as evidence in the council's submission to Mighty River Power's Turitea Wind Farm application hearing in July, showed about 75 per cent of the participants liked having wind farms because they added interest to the city's landscape, and nearly 70 per cent saw the wind farms as an attraction in the city.

But just over half said it was unacceptable for turbine noise to disturb residents.

Opinion over the number of turbines was divided. A third said there was the right amount of wind farms here, another third would like more, about 20 per cent said there were too many, and 10 per cent had no strong opinion either way.

Council's head of community planning Andrew Boyle said the survey was a good indication of what city residents were thinking about wind farms. "The idea is to get the views of the person on the street, or the silent majority."

Most people "didn't seem to be that worried" by wind farms, he said.

"The bulk of people are reasonably comfortable."

The views of people who live close to wind farms were well canvassed, but more general opinions were also needed.

"It's important to get views from both groups of people so council knows how people are feeling."

The survey was done via email, and Mr Boyle said there was an over representation of people aged 50-plus in the results.

That meant there was likely to be more support for wind farms in the community, because young people were often more supportive of the developments, he said.

The Manawatu Standard has still not been able to speak to Environment Minister Nick Smith. Dr Smith was out of the country last week, when questions were raised over his decision-making process when calling in the Turitea Wind Farm. He was back in the country yesterday, but a spokesman said he was too busy to comment.

- © Fairfax NZ News