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Tarn: wind turbines found guilty of harmful effects on the health of local residents

2021-11-07T18:38:19.267Z


The Toulouse Court of Appeal recognized the reality of a "wind syndrome". After six years of legal proceedings, a couple of Belgians living in the Tarn obtained on appeal compensation of 128,000 euros from two companies operating wind turbines, located 700 and 1,300 meters from their property, reports France Bleu. The suffering and devaluation of the house of Christel and Luc. F. were recognized on appeal, which was not the case at first instance. “ It is not a dispute


After six years of legal proceedings, a couple of Belgians living in the Tarn obtained on appeal compensation of 128,000 euros from two companies operating wind turbines, located 700 and 1,300 meters from their property, reports France Bleu.

The suffering and devaluation of the house of Christel and Luc.

F. were recognized on appeal, which was not the case at first instance.

It is not a dispute that we see every day.

I think this court decision is unprecedented in France

”, supports Me Alice Terrasse the lawyer of the plaintiffs, questioned by

Le Figaro

.

Read alsoThese rural areas where wind turbines abound: our exclusive ranking

In 2004, the couple in their forties bought and renovated an old farmhouse dating from 1813 in the Tarn, in the heart of the Haut Languedoc regional natural park.

It is made up of a dwelling house and three buildings, converted in 2006 into rural lodges.

Their installation project is to live in the heart of French nature and accommodate tourists.

"

We bought this house because it is located in a natural area of ​​ecological interest in fauna and flora (ZNIEFF), the natural heritage is exceptional and preserved

", explains Christel F to

Figaro

.

But between 2008 and 2009, six wind turbines were erected overhanging their building, at a distance ranging from 700 to 1300 meters. The minimum legal spacing being set in France at 500 meters, the couple cannot dispute their location, and do not suspect the repercussions to come. “

At the beginning we were not against the installation of wind turbines near our home, but gradually our daily life has become nightmarish

”, testifies Luc F. In 2013, the wood forming a screen between their house and the wind turbines is razed. Their "

ordeal

" then begins, reports their lawyer. The lighting of the wind farm is particularly intense. The white flashes of light give them "

the impression of being in a permanent thunderstorm

." "

It was a really terrifying visual and auditory assault, even more unbearable at night

”, underlines Luc.

Many symptoms

Desperate, they try to get in touch with a technician, without a response.

The head offices of the two companies, Margnes Energie and Sasu Singladou Energie, are located in the Deux-Sèvres department.

These operators produce green energy far from their doorstep, they do not care about the people who live nearby

,” deplores Luc.

Loss of sleep, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, tachycardia, unconsciousness: their health is deteriorating inexorably.

To read also Michel Bernard: "Wind turbines make ugly up to the sky, essential for human breathing"

Christel and Luc live like this for more than two years.

Despite our requests, we received no support, neither from the town, nor from the department and the region.

We realized that the financial gain brought by wind turbines to communities outweighs the well-being of local residents.

These six wind turbines bring in 100,000 euros per year to the community of municipalities.

On the advice of their doctor, they resigned themselves to moving in May 2015. “

Living in our farmhouse had become unbearable.

We were forced to take a rental 17 kilometers from our house.

Their ills regress and disappear in January 2016.

Unsuccessful at first instance

Christel and Luc end up taking legal action in 2015. They claim compensation from the two operators of the wind farm before the court of Castres in 2017. According to their lawyer, Me Alice Terrasse, the nuisance of wind turbines constitutes an "

abnormal neighborhood disturbance

" for its clients.

Two expertises are carried out at the request of the court: one medical, the other sonometric.

The latter reports inaudible sounds emitted by the six wind turbines: infrasound.

This park is therefore a source of nuisance,

” says the lawyer.

Expertise concludes that the couple is a victim of "

wind syndrome

", unrecognized in France.

Read also Wind turbines: on the island of Oléron, a "firm and final" to the offshore park

Lawyer for one of the operators of wind turbines, Me Alexandre Brugière opposes two reports in court, one from the Academy of Medicine and the other from the National Environment Agency, saying that currently "

he cannot not be established between infrasound and disorders often invoked by the applicants to characterize a malaise.

He adds that the couple may have been stressed by the sight of wind turbines after the trees were cut.

After three years of instruction and acoustic and medical expertise, the couple was dismissed in January 2020 of all their claims, in particular for compensation for their bodily injuries and the loss of use of their property.

For the court of Castres, the nuisances were not significant enough.

He felt that they did not go beyond the normal neighborhood inconvenience.

"The Castres judge who came to the scene did not measure the long-term consequences of noise and visual disturbances, affirm Christel and Luc.

They appeal, because in addition to bodily and moral damages, the loss of value of their property, which is now unsaleable, is added.

Halftone victory

In July, the Toulouse Court of Appeal finally ruled in favor of the plaintiffs: it recognized the reality of a "

wind syndrome

", resulting in a deterioration in their state of health.

"

This

syndrome is not officially recognized in France, but the definition established by the WHO cannot be denied justice,"

explains their lawyer.

Christel and Luc are recognized as victims of these abnormal neighborhood disturbances and must be compensated up to 128,000 euros.

"

Our suffering is finally recognized after so many years of legal proceedings

", rejoices the couple.

Read also Wind farm in the bay of Saint-Brieuc: the national financial prosecutor's office seized of a complaint

However, this compensation will not replace their farmhouse, which has been on sale for more than three years and which has still not found a buyer.

We were forced to give up our life project

,” lament Luc and Christel.

Their lawyer brandishes their case as proof that we must review the legislation surrounding the wind industry in rural areas.

Source: lefigaro

All tech articles on 2021-11-07

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