East Marsh turbine: looking for a win-wind situation

“Totally appalling”;  “a nod to environmentalism”; “greenwash!”

These are just a few of the many comments made about the proposal for a wind turbine on East Marsh, courtesy of the forthcoming Olympics.

So, green electricity or green space – you decide, apparently.

There are huge concerns about the loss of open land from Leabank Square residents and there is outrage from Johnny Walker, Chairman of the Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League.

Hackney Marsh Users’ Group and wildlife experts are worried about the possible consequences for local widlife including bats, whilst Friends of the Earth, on the other hand, is enthusiastic.

And so it seems the wind turbine may be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The proposal has pitted environmentally-minded organisations against each other – the lack of consensus is almost cacophonic.

Of course people want to protect wildlife and green space, as well as have energy from renewable sources. But it seems this is not to be. Whatever the final decision, there will always be folk who will feel it’s not the right one.

Readers may remember the debacle when the council began buying electricity from 100 per cent hydro-electric sources, and the debates about whether it really was ‘green’ energy.

And so we are again in a similar place; the shift to a low carbon economy is not an easy one.

But the conflicting interests regarding the wind turbine notwithstanding, many residents will be relieved to know that at least East Marsh is likely to get a giant fan rather than one of the Government’s ten planned new nuclear power stations.