Last October, Hackney council ran a public consultation to grill locals on whether they wanted to see a 120m-high wind turbine erected on Hackney Marshes.
The results are in, and it seems NIMBYism has yet to rear its conservative hackles out east London way: 87% of respondents were in favour of the proposal. Mayor Jules Pipes, citing the power of the people, said that it was up to residents to decide whether or not the project should go ahead, and that after such a positive outcome, the Council would now look at the next stages to "make the idea a reality".
The survey broke down as follows: 33.8% supported the turbine if it could provide green electricity for Hackney, 53.5% supported it regardless of where the electricity was used, and only 12.6% opposed it under any circumstances. However, only 700 people out of Hackney's 200,000+ residents voted, so the turbine might not enjoy the broad support that Pipes assumes.
Waltham Forest and the Olympic Delivery Authority are already pressing ahead with another turbine on nearby Eton Manor.
