Complaints as turbines hit Darwen TV reception

3:00pm Friday 21st December 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Dan Clough, Reporter

HOMES in Darwen have had their TV receptions affected by a new wind farm at Oswaldtwistle Moor, residents claim.

The 12 turbines between Grane Road and Haslingden Road have already brought complaints from residents in Baxenden, Bel- thorn, Oswaldtwistle and Accrington who said digital Freeview channels had been lost since the wind farm was erected.

Now people in areas of Darwen – Sunnyhurst in particular – have complained that they too have been affected by the Energiekontour-owned wind farm.

Sudell councillor Paul Browne, an aerial fitter by trade, said the turbines had caused a problem for people using a ‘reflective signal’.

He said: “A lot of people don’t have a direct signal to the transmitter, so they bounce the signal off another object to get their TV reception.

“We used to use India Mill to bounce off a lot, and it works fine.

“But since that wind farm went up, a lot of people have lost channels.

“A lot of aerials I put up for digital TV on reflective signals have had problems. I have been back to six people so far.

“And I don’t think there is anything they can do. There is no option but to switch to FreeSat or Sky.”

Steven Cooper, of Harwood Street in the Sunnyhurst area of Darwen, said he and neighbours had problems.

He said: “The wind farm is directly in the line of sight between Winter Hill and Pendle Forest.

“Since it went up, TV receptions have been funny around here.

“It is affecting quite a lot of channels.”

Last month, Hyndburn MP Graham Jones said he had contacted Energiekontour after residents in Baxenden complained.

He said: “The residents are telling me their screens pixelate and are unwatchable when the blades are rotating, and the severity of the problem depends on how fast the blades are going, and which direction the turbine is facing.

“I have contacted Energiekontor and the borough council, and both tell me that they are investigating.”

Nathan Wicks, project manager for Energiekontour, said the firm had offered to pay £100 towards the cost of installing FreeSat for anybody whose TV reception had been affected.

Anyone interested in taking up the offer should contact Mr Wicks on 0113 2044862.

Comments (17)

3:44pm Fri 21 Dec 12

clickhere says...

Oh Dear!
Oh Dear! clickhere

4:05pm Fri 21 Dec 12

alphadelta says...

If you want to try to get Freeview from Pendle Forest, that's tough - Darwen isn't in the area served by that transmitter.
If you want to try to get Freeview from Pendle Forest, that's tough - Darwen isn't in the area served by that transmitter. alphadelta

7:32pm Fri 21 Dec 12

davidinburnley says...

The turbines are in a direct line of sight between Winter Hill and Pendle Forest, are they? Well, not actually - and neither is Darwen. The new turbines are not even inbetween where the signals come from and Darwen, the TV signal has to go past Darwen to get to where the turbines are - sounds like a bit of band wagon jumping to get a bit of compo to me.
The turbines are in a direct line of sight between Winter Hill and Pendle Forest, are they? Well, not actually - and neither is Darwen. The new turbines are not even inbetween where the signals come from and Darwen, the TV signal has to go past Darwen to get to where the turbines are - sounds like a bit of band wagon jumping to get a bit of compo to me. davidinburnley

8:28pm Fri 21 Dec 12

Return of the Magnificent se7en says...

Just say no to these low frequency oscillator sickness generators. They look hideous on our once beautiful skyline. War of the worlds meets Banksy, just cover it all in concrete and pylons and have done with it, then you'll feel as ill as I do right now. Countryside killers
Just say no to these low frequency oscillator sickness generators. They look hideous on our once beautiful skyline. War of the worlds meets Banksy, just cover it all in concrete and pylons and have done with it, then you'll feel as ill as I do right now. Countryside killers Return of the Magnificent se7en

8:34pm Fri 21 Dec 12

wrinkles says...

I live in Baxenden and have had to have one of their Freesat digital dishes installed due to the windfarm disrupting reception on all channels.
This digital dish is supposed to give good reception at least on the the mainstay BBC and ITV channels (total 3 channels) - unfortunately, this morning from 5a.m. onwards it too decided to forget to not transmit Granada at all and to intersperse reception on the other 2 channels with various hiccup noises, freeze frames and loss sound.
We're paying a price for Hyndburn Borough's efforts to make money.
I live in Baxenden and have had to have one of their Freesat digital dishes installed due to the windfarm disrupting reception on all channels. This digital dish is supposed to give good reception at least on the the mainstay BBC and ITV channels (total 3 channels) - unfortunately, this morning from 5a.m. onwards it too decided to forget to not transmit Granada at all and to intersperse reception on the other 2 channels with various hiccup noises, freeze frames and loss sound. We're paying a price for Hyndburn Borough's efforts to make money. wrinkles

9:53pm Fri 21 Dec 12

Graham Hartley says...

Watch less. Do more of anything else.
Watch less. Do more of anything else. Graham Hartley

10:52pm Fri 21 Dec 12

maxcollie says...

Don't pay anything ,I didn't
Don't pay anything ,I didn't maxcollie

1:25am Sat 22 Dec 12

2 for 5p says...

get a sky dish
get a sky dish 2 for 5p

2:07am Sat 22 Dec 12

JPainter90 says...

Return of the Magnificent se7en wrote:
Just say no to these low frequency oscillator sickness generators. They look hideous on our once beautiful skyline. War of the worlds meets Banksy, just cover it all in concrete and pylons and have done with it, then you'll feel as ill as I do right now. Countryside killers
Cry me a river.
[quote][p][bold]Return of the Magnificent se7en[/bold] wrote: Just say no to these low frequency oscillator sickness generators. They look hideous on our once beautiful skyline. War of the worlds meets Banksy, just cover it all in concrete and pylons and have done with it, then you'll feel as ill as I do right now. Countryside killers[/p][/quote]Cry me a river. JPainter90

3:30pm Sat 22 Dec 12

CapitaBackHander says...

I just don't understand this article re Darwen. Winter Hill can be seen on the right of Darwen Moors when driving to Bolton. Grane RD is far to the left. Is this a to simplistic view?
I just don't understand this article re Darwen. Winter Hill can be seen on the right of Darwen Moors when driving to Bolton. Grane RD is far to the left. Is this a to simplistic view? CapitaBackHander

3:36pm Sat 22 Dec 12

Good call says...

How about you stop watching TV and stop paying the tv licence fee.Start getting your information and entertainment from books, the Internet etc.
How about you stop watching TV and stop paying the tv licence fee.Start getting your information and entertainment from books, the Internet etc. Good call

4:40pm Sat 22 Dec 12

wrinkles says...

maxcollie wrote:
Don't pay anything ,I didn't
Wish you'd shouted that from the rooftop when you first had problems. I didn't even know the windfarm was being erected never mind it blighting my reception.
[quote][p][bold]maxcollie[/bold] wrote: Don't pay anything ,I didn't[/p][/quote]Wish you'd shouted that from the rooftop when you first had problems. I didn't even know the windfarm was being erected never mind it blighting my reception. wrinkles

5:07pm Sat 22 Dec 12

Ian K says...

Good call wrote:
How about you stop watching TV and stop paying the tv licence fee.Start getting your information and entertainment from books, the Internet etc.
I love that response, been doing it that way myself for about a decade.
[quote][p][bold]Good call[/bold] wrote: How about you stop watching TV and stop paying the tv licence fee.Start getting your information and entertainment from books, the Internet etc.[/p][/quote]I love that response, been doing it that way myself for about a decade. Ian K

7:17pm Sat 22 Dec 12

alphadelta says...

CapitaBackHander wrote:
I just don't understand this article re Darwen. Winter Hill can be seen on the right of Darwen Moors when driving to Bolton. Grane RD is far to the left. Is this a to simplistic view?
The problem is that, due to the intervening Darwen Moors, transmissions from Winter Hill can't be received on the west side of Darwen and some parts of Blackburn. That's why the relay was built at Sett End.

However, I know of some in the Sunnyhurst area who have had their aerials rigged up to receive from Pendle Forest, as there is a wider selection of channels from there than from Sett End.

I guess that it's these Darweners who are complaining; there is no problem at all receiving from Sett End, and I don't see why anyone should be offering them anything to 'fix' their system when it was wrong in the first place.
[quote][p][bold]CapitaBackHander[/bold] wrote: I just don't understand this article re Darwen. Winter Hill can be seen on the right of Darwen Moors when driving to Bolton. Grane RD is far to the left. Is this a to simplistic view?[/p][/quote]The problem is that, due to the intervening Darwen Moors, transmissions from Winter Hill can't be received on the west side of Darwen and some parts of Blackburn. That's why the relay was built at Sett End. However, I know of some in the Sunnyhurst area who have had their aerials rigged up to receive from Pendle Forest, as there is a wider selection of channels from there than from Sett End. I guess that it's these Darweners who are complaining; there is no problem at all receiving from Sett End, and I don't see why anyone should be offering them anything to 'fix' their system when it was wrong in the first place. alphadelta

1:00pm Sun 23 Dec 12

louderfasterlonger says...

davidinburnley wrote:
The turbines are in a direct line of sight between Winter Hill and Pendle Forest, are they? Well, not actually - and neither is Darwen. The new turbines are not even inbetween where the signals come from and Darwen, the TV signal has to go past Darwen to get to where the turbines are - sounds like a bit of band wagon jumping to get a bit of compo to me.
Try watching BBC or ITV3 on Freeview in the Sunnyhurst area. I haven't had these programs for about 6 weeks, coincidence perhaps ?
[quote][p][bold]davidinburnley[/bold] wrote: The turbines are in a direct line of sight between Winter Hill and Pendle Forest, are they? Well, not actually - and neither is Darwen. The new turbines are not even inbetween where the signals come from and Darwen, the TV signal has to go past Darwen to get to where the turbines are - sounds like a bit of band wagon jumping to get a bit of compo to me.[/p][/quote]Try watching BBC or ITV3 on Freeview in the Sunnyhurst area. I haven't had these programs for about 6 weeks, coincidence perhaps ? louderfasterlonger

2:05pm Sun 23 Dec 12

alphadelta says...

You're trying to receive from Pendle Forest then. As I said before, Darwen isn't in the area served by that transmitter, so don't be surprised if things go wrong.
You're trying to receive from Pendle Forest then. As I said before, Darwen isn't in the area served by that transmitter, so don't be surprised if things go wrong. alphadelta

6:27pm Thu 27 Dec 12

ossybsting says...

NO WAY
NO WAY ossybsting

Comments are closed on this article.

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