The public meeting organised by VAST at Llanswel Village Hall on 22nd November 2013 was well attended by over 80 people.

As time for objections to the Bryn Dafydd, Llansawel and Brechfa East applications is now very limited the meeting sought to inform people of the issues the developments would bring locally. Objection guidelines were available.

There were excellent visual displays of the impact of the Bryn Dafydd turbine and also those planned for Brechfa East. Photos of the Cefn Croes development showed what the construction of wind farms can do to the countryside e.g. the removal of trees, huge access roads and the sheer scale of the turbines.

Informative and thought provoking presentations stimulated debate:

Ted Marenyck showed an edited version of a film called Windfall, the story of a town in USA called Meredith, whose community have been fragmented by wind turbines. The edit highlighted the problems caused by noise and shadow flicker.

Caroline Evans presented information on the TAN8 and planning processes relevant to Bryn Dafydd and Brechfa East.

Tony Jukes challenged perceptions of turbines:
One particularly worrying fact was that when turbines catch fire – and they do catch fire! – the fire brigade cannot put the fire out due to location and the height of these structures. Additionally, parts of the burning blades are flung out onto the land polluting it irreversibly with Dioxins.

A resident near the Altwallis wind farm, Carmarthenshire, explained how the noise from these turbines was blighting the lives of local residents.

The total number of objections for Brechfa Forest East was 500 and Bryn Dafydd 200 on 26/11/2013.