Fears over impact of planned 300ft wind turbines on children at new Hartlepool school

Plans are pressing ahead to create a new free school for Hartlepool to cater for children with special needs.

Land has been allocated on council-owned grazing land behind Golden Flatts Primary School.

The new school will be for children and young people with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Councillor Leisa Smith said the school would add to concerns around plans to install three on-shore wind turbines in the town, two of which would be off nearby Brenda Road.

She said: “I would like it to be noted there are two wind turbines that are going to be proposed to be put along Brenda Road and I think that those with social, emotional and mental health needs, with the noise and the flicker, it would become a distraction for their concentration.

“I don’t believe those turbines should be put near that fantastic school that will have had a lot of time and effort put into it.”

Coun Smith was speaking at a meeting of Hartlepool Borough Council’s children’s services committee, which was given an update on the school plans.

We reported earlier this week how Hartlepool-based green energy company Seneca Global Energy wants to build two turbines on land west of Brenda Road, south of Tata steel, and a single turbine on the Tofts Farm Industrial Estate, to the north of Tofts Road West.

The company is preparing to apply to Hartlepool Borough Council for planning permission.

The Energy Workshop, which is assisting Seneca with making the applications, said the turbines will have a maximum tip height of 99metres, or around 325ft.

In 2015, Hartlepool council granted permission to Seneca Global Energy for turbines up to 574ft-tall at Brenda Road West Industrial Estate, Graythorp Industrial Estate and Tofts Road West.

But in 2016 they were ruled invalid by Government agency The Planning Inspectorate which said the applicant had failed to carry out enough consultation.