So a couple of weeks ago I told you that a group calling themselves Yes2wind were out and about in Beeston… and I also told you that they were not exactly what they appeared to be. Well, they’ve been back in Beeston, and over the river in Clifton. Here’s a picture:
"And when they are built, your children will become better behaved, and you'll be richer, and unicorns will run through the fields between Beeston and Clifton"
Looks harmless enough, doesn’t he? Just an environmental campaigner selflessly giving up his weekend to try to convince people that wind power is the answer. We might not agree with him, but we should respect his opinion, nonetheless, right? Err… well actually he’s being paid to be there. By the University of Nottingham. Although that fact is probably rather less than clear to the people passing by. I don't see any big University of Nottingham logos there, do you?
The T-shirted chap in the picture works for Yes2wind Ltd, a public relations company which specialises in putting a positive spin on wind power infrastructure projects, and which has been contracted by the University of Nottingham to drum up support for their wind turbines. In order to do this, they set up stall in the street and offer to 'help' local residents write "individual, personalised" on-the-spot letters of support, whilst feeding them inaccurate information about the university’s project. Local residents have been told that they should support the project because the power generated will benefit the local community, and that their peace and quiet will be assured by a legal minimum distance between the turbines and their properties. Both of these statements are, of course, entirely untrue. One can only assume that despite being a company specialising in wind power, and having been paid good money by the University of Nottingham, Yes2wind are a little confused about the exact nature of the project and the regulations which apply to it.
So who exactly are Yes2wind? It is a registered company whose directors are Mr John Howard Everett and Mr Alexander Anthony Doyle. Rather dubiously, their website doesn’t provide a physical address, but a bit of searching reveals that their registered offices are at 24 Exchange Quay, Salford, Manchester, M5 3EQ.
Here’s another company: Pendragon Consultants Limited. Among their directors is one Mr Alexander Anthony Doyle… their offices? A very familiar sounding 24 The Office Village, Second Floor, Exchange Quay, Manchester, M5 3EQ. Pendragon are a large Public Relations company which specialises in greasing the wheels of “large infrastructure projects”. What kind of environmentally friendly projects might those be? Well, according to information on their website, “Power stations”, “High rise developments” and “Airport expansion”. One notable client of Pendragon is Drax Power. That’s right, Drax as in the UK’s largest coal-fired power station which in 2009 produced roughly 20,000,0000 tonnes of CO2, making it the biggest source of CO2 in the UK. Suddenly Yes2wind isn’t looking so green after all.
The leaflet being given out on the street by Yes2wind is careful to mention Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. But unsurprisingly, companies like Drax don’t tend to go down very well with organisations like Greenpeace and FoE, which may go some way to explaining the rather tortuous wording on Yes2wind’s leaflet, which talks about “our inspirational debt to these organisations”. Translation – we no longer have anything to do with them.
It’s also notable that the leaflet doesn’t once mention the turbines proposed by the University of Nottingham, less still make clear the financial link between them.
Meanwhile, Pendragon’s website offers its potential customers the dire warning that “Planning and politics are inextricably linked. If it appears that a community totally opposes a planned development, local councillors and politicians may well see it as their job to work to have the project rejected.” Ah, I see. And there was me thinking that the job of politicians was to represent the views of the public. It’s a good job that big PR companies like Pendragon are here to educate me about the true meaning of a democratic society.
Anyway, back to those letters which Yes2wind are so keen for you to write. According to their website, it is “an online system which allows community members to quickly and easily generate their own individual, personalised support letters. Selecting from a wide range of options, local people can produce letters reflecting their individual views and reasons for supporting a development. The facility to modify and amend ensures that the finished letter is truly individual to the writer. The system can be used from home via the website, at public exhibitions or out of doors during street campaigning.”
The software used to generate these letters is touted by a website www.expresssupport.com, which gives an address in Manchester which by now you will be familiar with. One can only hope that the results produced by the software are more impressive than their typo-strewn website, with its talk of “skateholders” [sic], a community “noteiceboard” [sic] and suchlike.
Actually, on reflection I’m not sure that the University of Nottingham is getting value for money out of yes2wind Ltd. So, University chaps (I know you’ll be reading this) - here’s an idea for you. Rather than paying yes2wind good money to come down to Beeston and Clifton and do the ‘environmentalist’ act, why don’t you cut out the middle man? Send a couple of representatives from your estates department down with a briefcase full of crisp twenty pound notes, and offer one to anyone who will write a letter to the council supporting your turbines. Why not? Surely it’s just another way of paying to generate support.
Oh, and as for that nice friendly man in the picture? Well, the pensioner who took the picture tells me that shortly afterwards, the yes2wind crew threatened to call the police if he didn’t go away. Charming!
I don't pretend that any of the above is new information - a cursory internet search will tell you that yes2wind have been rumbled many times before. But I thought you might be interested.
The T-shirted chap in the picture works for Yes2wind Ltd, a public relations company which specialises in putting a positive spin on wind power infrastructure projects, and which has been contracted by the University of Nottingham to drum up support for their wind turbines. In order to do this, they set up stall in the street and offer to 'help' local residents write "individual, personalised" on-the-spot letters of support, whilst feeding them inaccurate information about the university’s project. Local residents have been told that they should support the project because the power generated will benefit the local community, and that their peace and quiet will be assured by a legal minimum distance between the turbines and their properties. Both of these statements are, of course, entirely untrue. One can only assume that despite being a company specialising in wind power, and having been paid good money by the University of Nottingham, Yes2wind are a little confused about the exact nature of the project and the regulations which apply to it.
So who exactly are Yes2wind? It is a registered company whose directors are Mr John Howard Everett and Mr Alexander Anthony Doyle. Rather dubiously, their website doesn’t provide a physical address, but a bit of searching reveals that their registered offices are at 24 Exchange Quay, Salford, Manchester, M5 3EQ.
Here’s another company: Pendragon Consultants Limited. Among their directors is one Mr Alexander Anthony Doyle… their offices? A very familiar sounding 24 The Office Village, Second Floor, Exchange Quay, Manchester, M5 3EQ. Pendragon are a large Public Relations company which specialises in greasing the wheels of “large infrastructure projects”. What kind of environmentally friendly projects might those be? Well, according to information on their website, “Power stations”, “High rise developments” and “Airport expansion”. One notable client of Pendragon is Drax Power. That’s right, Drax as in the UK’s largest coal-fired power station which in 2009 produced roughly 20,000,0000 tonnes of CO2, making it the biggest source of CO2 in the UK. Suddenly Yes2wind isn’t looking so green after all.
The leaflet being given out on the street by Yes2wind is careful to mention Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. But unsurprisingly, companies like Drax don’t tend to go down very well with organisations like Greenpeace and FoE, which may go some way to explaining the rather tortuous wording on Yes2wind’s leaflet, which talks about “our inspirational debt to these organisations”. Translation – we no longer have anything to do with them.
It’s also notable that the leaflet doesn’t once mention the turbines proposed by the University of Nottingham, less still make clear the financial link between them.
Meanwhile, Pendragon’s website offers its potential customers the dire warning that “Planning and politics are inextricably linked. If it appears that a community totally opposes a planned development, local councillors and politicians may well see it as their job to work to have the project rejected.” Ah, I see. And there was me thinking that the job of politicians was to represent the views of the public. It’s a good job that big PR companies like Pendragon are here to educate me about the true meaning of a democratic society.
Anyway, back to those letters which Yes2wind are so keen for you to write. According to their website, it is “an online system which allows community members to quickly and easily generate their own individual, personalised support letters. Selecting from a wide range of options, local people can produce letters reflecting their individual views and reasons for supporting a development. The facility to modify and amend ensures that the finished letter is truly individual to the writer. The system can be used from home via the website, at public exhibitions or out of doors during street campaigning.”
The software used to generate these letters is touted by a website www.expresssupport.com, which gives an address in Manchester which by now you will be familiar with. One can only hope that the results produced by the software are more impressive than their typo-strewn website, with its talk of “skateholders” [sic], a community “noteiceboard” [sic] and suchlike.
Actually, on reflection I’m not sure that the University of Nottingham is getting value for money out of yes2wind Ltd. So, University chaps (I know you’ll be reading this) - here’s an idea for you. Rather than paying yes2wind good money to come down to Beeston and Clifton and do the ‘environmentalist’ act, why don’t you cut out the middle man? Send a couple of representatives from your estates department down with a briefcase full of crisp twenty pound notes, and offer one to anyone who will write a letter to the council supporting your turbines. Why not? Surely it’s just another way of paying to generate support.
Oh, and as for that nice friendly man in the picture? Well, the pensioner who took the picture tells me that shortly afterwards, the yes2wind crew threatened to call the police if he didn’t go away. Charming!
I don't pretend that any of the above is new information - a cursory internet search will tell you that yes2wind have been rumbled many times before. But I thought you might be interested.
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