Over half of respondents (57%) think that 23 turbines is an acceptable number for the proposed site, although a significant minority (19%) do not think this is an acceptable number. A further 23% are undecided and the remaining 1% could not answer this question. The majority of respondents who live in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site (67%) do not think that 23 turbines is an acceptable number. This is most probably because the majority of these respondents are opposed to the location of the site in the first instance. 2.8
A selection of illustrative comments provided by respondents as to why they answered „yes‟, „no‟ or „undecided‟ are listed in the following table:
Is the number of turbines proposed for the site (23) acceptable to you? Answer
Illustrative comments “To minimise the effect on landscape, better to have fewer wind farms that are bigger.”
Yes
“Could accommodate more.” “We need all the wind turbines possible to generate more electric power.” “There should be no turbines.”
No
“They are unsightly and an eyesore.” “It's a lot of windmills in a small location.” “Don't know what would be an acceptable amount.”
Undecided
“I don't know if they are cost effective.” “Don't know how big the area is to know if it is congested.”
A full listing of verbatim comments can be found in the appendices. 2.9
The survey form then provided respondents with the following information:
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