Advertising Standards Authority rules against wind farm developer

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that the company proposing to build a controversial wind farm north of Omagh made wrong claims in a leaflet distributed to local residents at an information evening. The company, Windyriver, is part of the same group as a company the Sunday World exposed in May as claiming the community centre at Broughderg, Co Tyrone, supported a planning application – without the centre’s permission: and attempting to mislead MP Pat Doherty into supporting that application.

The company, Windyfields, trades as ARC NI 3. It has applied for planning permission for the wind farm at Lisnaharney. The ASA has ruled “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told (the developers) not to make claims for which they did not hold adequate substantiation.”

It ruled that the developer was wrong in:

The claimed ‘540 job years’ to be created. The ASA said “… it was not clear from the report how those figures had been calculated. In the absence of that information, we considered we had not seen adequate substantiation to support the claims and concluded those claims were misleading.”

The claimed contribution of £869,797 to the local economy. The ASA called this “misleading.”

The claimed annual output of 110,376 Megawatts of electricity. The ASA said “the indicative electricity output figure stated in the ad was misleading.” Even if the wind farm’s capacity had been substantiated “the claim should have been phrased conditionally to make clear that the calculation on which it was based was an estimate.”

The claimed 23,733 homes that would be powered. The ASA ruled this was “misleading.”

The claim that Lisnaharney would save "just over 1% of the total UK annual (carbon dioxide emission) reduction target and 12.6% of Northern Irelands [sic] target." The ASA ruled that the real figure would be about 0.6% of Northern Ireland’s emissions, and thus the claim was “misleading.”

Jason Devine of Lisnaharney Residents Group made the complaint to the ASA. Devine said the planners have to take the ruling into consideration. “The claims Advertising Standards has said are wrong are the same as are in documents submitted with the planning application,” Devine said. “I don’t see how the planners can pass this. And, after this, it is very hard to trust anything this company says. I can’t see how any community can trust them.”

The Lisnaharney wind farm has stirred up a storm of objections. The proposed site is just west of famous beauty-spot the Gortin Glens. The turbines are to be 410 feet high, on top of a ridge approximately 1,000 feet high. Objectors include Sport NI, part of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. “The site of this proposed development is one of the premier locations in the area for walking not only for the Sperrins but also throughout Northern Ireland,” wrote Mike McClure of Sport NI.

The directors of Windyfields are Richard Dixon-Ward and Leonard Seelig, with addresses in London, and Harley Geoffrey Potter, with an address in Mashpee, Massachusetts, USA. Renewable Energy International controls Windyfields. Seelig and Potter are the directors of that company. The company gives its address as a basement flat in London. The largest shareholder in Renewable Energy International is REI LLP, which is not registered as a company in the UK.

According to Renewable Energy International’s website, it is “currently open to negotiations on the purchase” of both the Lisnaharney and Windyhill projects. Neither has yet received planning permission. Renewable Energy International has applied to Companies House to be struck off voluntarily as a company.

A spokesperson for Renewable Energy International said they were disappointed by the ASA’s ruling. “Nevertheless, we have complied with the ASA recommendation and removed the material from circulation,” the spokesperson said. “We sincerely hope that the ASA’s intervention at the behest of outside parties does not inhibit the free flow of information to genuinely interested and concerned parties particularly local residents and representatives.”

This is a longer version of a piece published in the Sunday World on September 8th 2013

Darach MacDonald's Tóchar is above all a readable book. It can be read as a whole, in a sitting or two. Equally, as each chapter is self-contained, it can be picked up from time to time.

Tóchar can be read at several levels. In the book, MacDonald describes his walking of 10 ancient pilgrim paths across Ireland. Thus the book is a guide to the various paths. Several of the paths are now little-known, such as An Slí Mór in the Midlands and St Declan's Way in Waterford and Tipperary. MacDonald's book has made me want to walk at least those two.

Tóchar also gives a new perspective on several well-known pilgrimages, presenting up paths that are little known. Croagh Patrick in Mayo is one of Ireland's most popular pilgrimages. MacDonald approaches it from the east, while the ascent from the west is best known. He walks from Ballintubber Abbey, as ancient pilgrims did. Lough Derg in Donegal is another very well-known pilgrimage. MacDonald takes us round the ancient pilgrim path on the south side of the Lough. Some sacred sites it passes pre-date Christianity.

The book reminds us how much of Ireland's heritage is in danger of wilting away. MacDonald contributes to keeping the Irish people in touch with their traditions and roots. Because of their nature, preservation of pilgrim paths - and pilgrimages - is not prioritised.

The book is also a journey round Ireland, covering all provinces. During that journey MacDonals meets a variety of people. Those meetings throw light on the complexities of Irish society.

However, the journey is not just physical but personal. In the journey, MacDonald wrestles with his own spirituality. Born a Catholic, his relationship with that Church has been fragile. The journey gives him a deeper connection with his spirituality. The description of how he makes that connection gets the reader to know him as a person.

Tóchar is published by New Island Books, price £12.99

Sunday was the Bluegrass Festival at the Ulster-American Folk Park, just outside Omagh. The previous Sunday I had attended the Mela, the Indian community gathering in Belfast.

Both were hugely enjoyable. The Mela was a festival of, music, dance,  food and crafts. The Indian community in particular - and Northern Ireland's ethnic minorities in general - showed their pride. Belfast's Botanic Gardens were packed. Northern Ireland is no longer the completely white society it still imagines itself to be.

The Bluegrass Festival was about the music. Like the Mela, the Folk Park was packed.

Both catered for an older demographic than most festivals. At the Mela, there was no alcohol on sale. At the Folk Park, there was a bar: on Sunday, there was no sign of excessive drinking.

Despite there being thousands of people at both events, I felt none of that threat of drink-fuelled violence that lies under the surface so often in Ireland and Britain when large numbers gather.

That violence is a problem. I live close to John Street in Omagh. Two young people died within 100 feet of one another there as a result of drunken violence within seven months. One was on John Street, the other round the corner on the Kevlin Road.

The problem of drink and violence has been building up for years. It is linked to the nature of society. Steps need to be taken over a period of years.

The lesson of the Mela and the Bluegrass is that large numbers can socialise without drunken violence. They thus enjoy themselves far better. Thus this problem can, in some way, be solved.