Poll over Welshpool wind turbine road fears

Welshpool Town Council is worried roads in the area will not cope

A public vote about whether parts for wind turbines should be transported through a Powys town is to be held.

There are concerns that the large structures, carried on lorries through Welshpool and nearby villages, will be too much for the area's road network.

The town council is conducting a poll on the issue and people are allowed to vote between 1400 and 1900 GMT.

A Powys council report last year said turbines could bring "significant disruption" to countryside highways.

A study for the council by consultants Capita Symonds highlighted the logistical problems of transporting a new generation of larger and more powerful turbines to the uplands.

It said the county's narrow country roads would have difficulty coping with the trucks needed for the structures, some standing at 400ft (122m).

'Abnormal loads'

Bespoke lorries measuring 180ft (55m) long, 16ft (5m) wide and weighing nearly 130 tonnes, would travel through the county five days a week for five years, making more than 3,000 journeys, said the report.

Welshpool town clerk Robert Robinson said: "(A) planning application has been received for 16 turbines in Carno (near Newtown), with the abnormal loads coming through Welshpool and the subsidiary loads routed through Guilsfield.

"Welshpool Town Council is holding a town poll on the wind farm transport for this project, with the voting taking place in the Corn Exchange on Tuesday, 9 February from 2pm-7pm.

"Only those on the electoral roll in Welshpool will be able to vote."