Article By Ellen Beardmore Pontefract and Castleford Express

FEARS: Mum Vicky Marks with son George,three.

pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk  29 October 2009

A deaf tot's progress with a life-changing hearing implant could be "destroyed" if a wind farm was built in Darrington, a public inquiry heard.

Worried mum Vicky Marks told the hearing her family would be forced to move away with three-year-old son George if the development was approved because low frequency noise from five towering turbines might interfere with the pioneering cochlear implants that let him hear.

Banks Renewables has appealed the rejection of its proposed wind farm off Westfield Lane by Wakefield Council planners - triggering the two-week public inquiry.

In a moving plea for the appeal to be rejected Mrs Marks said: "This is my one chance to prove a point probably because if the development goes ahead we are not prepared to stand around.

"I don't think that we could rebuild the life we have with George anywhere else.

"It (moving George) would stunt his development and it would destroy the work we've done and believe me, there's been a lot of work done."

Brave George had major surgery when he was 18 months old to fit the sensitive bilateral cochlear implants - which convert sound into digital signals but do not filter background noise out in the way a hearing person can.

He is learning to speak and developing well but his family fears that work could be undone if the frequency of turbine sounds distorts the clear signals he needs to hear.

Mum-of-three Mrs Marks, of Darrington, has given up her job to develop George's linguistic skills before he starts school.

She told the inquiry: "My husband and I along with our two other children have had to deal with a lot of strain and worry to ensure George has had the best conditions in which to hear, and it would be devastating for us to have to begin again.

"The closest turbine is only 800 metres away and the cumulative effect of the others could cause serious listening problems due to both interference and background noise.

"It takes only a few moments' research to find out that even residents without hearing problems have been affected by the noise of these turbines and most live further away than is proposed for these turbines."

Mrs Marks, 39, also said Carleton's The Rookeries primary school - which has a resource for deaf children from across the district - would be 1,300 metres from turbines and that George's treatment had already cost the NHS £50,000.

She added: "George is well known and loved in the community and as a result, is developing the confidence to express himself in normal ways.

"Should the effect of the turbines interfere with this we would, I'm sure, be forced to leave an area that offers him everything.

"This in turn would undoubtedly have a huge impact on his development - he would have to leave a community where he is accepted and helped by everyone around him. If we had to leave, we would be crushed."

By Ellen Beardmore

Pontefract and Castleford Express

pontefractandcastlefordexpress.co.uk

29 October 2009