TY - JOUR

T1 - Local public opinion of a proposed 21.5 MW(e) biomass gasifier in Devon

T2 - Questionnaire survey results

AU - Upham, Paul

AU - Shackley, Simon

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to thank the villagers of Winkleigh and the interviewees. The research was funded by the Biomass and Bioenergy consortium of the Research Councils’ SuperGen programme ( www.supergen-bioenergy.net ).

PY - 2007/6/1

Y1 - 2007/6/1

N2 - This paper presents the results of a postal questionnaire survey of local public opinion on a proposal to build a 21.5 MW(e) integrated combined cycle biomass gasifier on an old Royal Air Force airfield on the outskirts of the rural village of Winkleigh, Devon, England. To all households in Winkleigh Parish 1200 questionnaires were distributed in June 2004 and were returned by 573 people, representing 40% of all adults in the parish. Opinion was found to be overwhelmingly against the gasifier. The concerns of local people were varied, but the highest levels of shared concern were truck movements and associated pollution and nuisance, doubts about the developer's credibility, and gaseous emissions from the plant, including odour. In general, local people felt that they were being asked to accept an industrial scale development that would lead to deterioration in their quality of life. The grey and academic literatures on analogous cases anticipate some of the specific findings.

AB - This paper presents the results of a postal questionnaire survey of local public opinion on a proposal to build a 21.5 MW(e) integrated combined cycle biomass gasifier on an old Royal Air Force airfield on the outskirts of the rural village of Winkleigh, Devon, England. To all households in Winkleigh Parish 1200 questionnaires were distributed in June 2004 and were returned by 573 people, representing 40% of all adults in the parish. Opinion was found to be overwhelmingly against the gasifier. The concerns of local people were varied, but the highest levels of shared concern were truck movements and associated pollution and nuisance, doubts about the developer's credibility, and gaseous emissions from the plant, including odour. In general, local people felt that they were being asked to accept an industrial scale development that would lead to deterioration in their quality of life. The grey and academic literatures on analogous cases anticipate some of the specific findings.

KW - Bioenergy

KW - Community

KW - Environmental impact

KW - Gasifier

KW - Opinion

KW - Perceptions

KW - Planning

KW - Public

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147161772&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/902417bd-9870-37d8-8bc4-b42fd330ccfc/

U2 - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2007.01.017

DO - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2007.01.017

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:34147161772

VL - 31

SP - 433

EP - 441

JO - Biomass and Bioenergy

JF - Biomass and Bioenergy

SN - 0961-9534

IS - 6

ER -