Hyndburn residents claim windfarm is interfering with TV signal (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Hyndburn residents claim windfarm is interfering with TV signal

1:00pm Thursday 6th December 2012 in Hyndburn By Emma Cruces, Reporter

RESIDENTS who claim a windfarm is interferring with their TV signals say they fear permanently losing access to certain channels.

People in Sandy Lane Accrington and parts of Oswaldtwistle and Baxenden have been receiving visits from engineers after making complaints regarding the Hyndburn Wind Farm.

But Baxenden councillor Kath Pratt said residents were being told to turn their aerials away from Winter Hill’s transmitter towards Haslingden’s, resulting in a loss of channels.

She said: “The problem is Haslingden is not a full transmitter, it’s just a relay signal so residents could drop from 70 plus channels to having just 16.

“People are also being offered basic FreeSat, but this also only works on one set and most people have two televisions. I wouldn’t go for it if it was offered to me.

“It just isn’t right that people are going to lose what they already have. I also worry about elderly people who may be isolated who perhaps don’t realise it isn’t a problem with their set.”

Sandy Lane resident Frank Griggs said: “We’ve been told we can have a FreeSat box, but that it will only work on one TV. Right now we have two with Freeview boxes, which both record channels and we have more channels, so we’re being offered less than we already have.

“On FreeSat we can’t record or have two televisions.”

Another resident said: “The windfarm company sent an aerial company round to our house to turn my aerial, but we would lose 60 per cent of our channels.

“I told him no, it is unacceptable to lose so many channels when we have not had them all that long.

“All I am asking for is for the same as I have now. Is it too much to ask?”

EnergieKontour, the firm behind the wind farm, were unavailable for comment.