Reference
Stroud District Residents Survey
RBA, November 1998
Residents of the Stroud District are widely supportive of wind power development. More than two in three (69%) say they support the development of wind power in Britain, and 67% supporting the further development of wind power in Stroud.
Only a minority of 5% say they oppose wind power in Britain, a figure contrary to the message of the small but exceedingly vocal anti wind farm lobby who oppose wind energy developments.
The SurveyThe Nympsfield Wind Turbine is situated in the District of Stroud, between the village of Nympsfield and the town of Nailsworth, and at the time of the survey, had been operational for eighteen months. Robertson Bell Associates (RBA) was commissioned* to conduct an independent, objective and dispassionate survey among the residents living within this boundary with the key objective being to gauge public opinion towards the Nympsfield wind turbine.
A total of 401 telephone interviews were carried out between 22nd October and 2nd November 1998. All fieldwork and data processing was carried out by RBA.
Summary of main findings
Attitudes towards wind power development in Great Britain
Residents of the Stroud District are widely supportive of wind power development. More than two in three (69%) say they support the development of wind power in Great Britain, including 29% who say they strongly support. Only a minority say they oppose (3% say they tend to oppose, 2% say they strongly oppose), with more saying they have no opinion either way (16%) or that it depends exactly where it is (9%).
Attitudes towards wind power development in Stroud
Attitudes toward the development of wind power in the District of Stroud are very similar - 67% say they support wind power development in Stroud, whilst 7% say they oppose. Particularly likely to say they strongly support the development of wind power schemes in Stroud are those who say they are very concerned about environmental issues (47% say this, compared with 28% of the sample as a whole).
Attitudes towards the development of three turbines on the Nympsfield site
Almost all (95%) say they are aware of the Nympsfield wind turbine and, similarly, seven in ten (70%) say they support the proposal for another three turbines on this site (29% strongly support, 41% tend to support), including 80% of those aged under 45. Older residents are more likely to say they oppose this proposal - one in four (25%) of those aged 60+ say they oppose the proposal, compared with 16% of the sample as a whole.
Attitudes towards further wind power development in Stroud
Seven in ten (71%) say the District of Stroud should aim to meet (56%) or exceed (15%) the nationally set target of 10% of electricity being generated by renewable sources by the year 2010. One in seven (15%) say this figure is unachievable for the Stroud District.
Visual impact of wind turbines
When thinking about drawbacks to wind power, the most commonly mentioned is the visual impact of wind turbines. Half (51%) name this as a drawback when asked what negative effects the development of wind power would have on the Stroud District.
In contrast, when asked specifically about the visual impact, the majority (72%) say the Nympsfield wind turbine either makes the scenery more interesting (43% say this) or it is hardly noticeable (30% say this), with only 17% saying it spoils the scenery. Those who oppose the proposal for three more turbines are most likely to say the Nympsfield turbine spoils the scenery (55% say this).
Noise from wind turbines
Noise from the Nympsfield wind turbine is less of a concern. Without prompting, one in nine (11%) mention noise as a drawback associated with wind power development. Among those who say they have seen the Nympsfield wind turbine, many more say it is not noisy at all (58%) than say it is noisy (4% say noisy and annoying, 11% saying noisy but not annoying).
Perceived benefits associated with wind power development
Almost two in five (38%) are unable to mention a drawback associated with wind power development (26% say there are no drawbacks, 12% say 'don't know'). They are far more inclined to mention positive effects, such as 'good for the environment' (46%), 'cheap to generate' (29%) and 'good use of a natural resource' (19%). Only 5% say 'there are no benefits' whilst 16% say 'don't know'. Even among those who do not say they support wind power development in Stroud, 58% are able to mention at least one benefit.
Perceptions of changing attitudes over time
Residents' experiences of the Nympsfield wind turbine appear to be fairly positive. Many more say that, since seeing the turbine, they are now more in favour of wind power (34%) than say they are now less in favour of wind power (4%). The majority (59%), however, say their opinion has not changed.
Those who do not support the development of wind power in Stroud, and those who say the turbine spoils the scenery, are particularly likely to say their opinion has not changed (71% of those who do not support development Stroud say their opinion has not changed and only 12% say they are now less in favour). If attitudes of Stroud residents have changed, they are more likely to have been made more positive - a greater proportion of those who say they strongly support say they are now more in favour (53%) than say their opinion has not changed (46%).
Public consultation
Of possible measures to increase support towards local wind power schemes, the most popular would be if there was greater public consultation on things like the size and positioning of turbines (77% say this would make them more likely to support, including 68% of those who currently oppose the proposal and 75% of those who have no opinion either way).
Providing the opportunity to buy 'wind generated electricity'
Providing the opportunity to buy electricity direct from local turbines would also be popular (64% say it would make them more likely to support, 21% say it would have no effect). Those who say they already support wind power development are much more likely to favour this idea. When asked whether they would want to buy their electricity this way, two in five (42%) say they would be likely to buy their electricity form local turbines, whilst 32% say 'it depends'. One in five (19%) say they would have 'no preference either way' whilst only 5% say they would be unlikely to. Those who strongly support the proposal are most likely to say 'likely to', those who tend to support are most likely to say' depends' whilst opposers are most likely to say 'no preference' or 'unlikely to'.
Providing the opportunity to buy shares in wind turbines
Providing the opportunity to buy shares in local wind turbines would be a relatively less successful way of increasing support towards local wind power schemes. Less than two in five (38%) say this would make them more likely to support local wind power schemes, with half (49%) saying it would have no effect and 5% saying it would make them less likely to support.
Awareness of wind power
Awareness of wind power is relatively high. Without any prompting, 70% mention wind power as a source of energy (including 79% of men). When prompted, men also claim to know more about wind power (12% of men say they know a lot, compared with 3% of women). Half the sample (51%) say they know a little whilst 41% say they have heard of it but don't know anything about it. Only 1% say they have never heard of wind power.
Concern about environmental issues
Regarding environmental issues generally, more than nine in ten (93%) say they are concerned (27% say very concerned, 66% say fairly concerned). Only 7% say they are not very concerned whilst 1% say not at all concerned. Those from 'blue collar' C2 households show the least concern - one in six (16%) say not very or not at all concerned, with only 2% saying very concerned.
* The survey was carried out on behalf of Triodos Bank, The Gloucestershire Water & Energy Forum, BWEA and Western Windpower.
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