‘And take your windmill with you!’
In the eye of the storm: Prowind took a battering as their UK rep faced a crowd of angry Mease Valley residents.
It got off to a bad start for Keith Brooks when his model turbine fell apart.
Then after its base dropped off the audience seemed to think the bottom had fallen out of his act.
Prowind’s representative was supposed to be at Harlaston Village Hall with the details about his company’s latest attempt to site colossal wind turbines in the heart of an unspoiled area of beautiful Mease Valley countryside.
But people found him so unwilling to provide any answers his visit was declared, “a waste of time”.
He began with an extraordinary apology for the way in which his German masters had behaved towards residents in the past.
He also appeared to make plenty of enemies at Harlaston.
If he had sent out his meeting invitations to the right villages he might have made many more.
Invites off target
He may also have lost a few ‘allies’ by sending those he did invite on a wild goose chase to the wrong venue.
And had his German boss turned up there could even have been an international incident.
Angry: members of the audience were not satisfied by Mr. Brooks’ excuses for variously refusing or failing to answer their questions.
Earlier this year Osnabruk-based Prowind’s chief executive, Johannes Busmann, cost local taxpayers £90,000 in wasted fees by pulling out of his first Haunton windfarm planning bid at the very last moment.
His company broke promises to consult the public and refused to answer media inquiries.
Busmann even ignored letters from a local Tory MP whose government is offering his company massive inducements at the taxpayers’ expense to build his locally hated windfarm in unspoiled countryside.
So, so sorry
Harlaston’s packed meeting seemed astonished as Mr. Brooks, said: “Sorry. You have been treated terribly. Anyone in their right mind would have objected to the last project.”
But he quickly added: “I was not employed at the time . . . I’m not responsible. I’m in charge of explaining what the new development is.”
Info blackout
Mr. Brooks went on to meet question after question with, “I won’t talk about it”, “I don’t know”, or, “I’m not qualified to say.”
As he was leaving he seemed to forget his model turbine. He walked out with, “and take your windmill with you”, ringing in his ears.
The audience declared his visit, “a pointless waste of time”.
A vote on Prowind’s proposals came out at ‘111 to nil’ against.
See: Anger over MEP’s windmill ‘wonga’
