Leaderdale and Melrose councillor John Paton-Day has called for a halt to wind farm developments in the Borders. The Lib Dem from Earlston was reacting to a letter in TheSouthern last week (October 29 issue) from Mr S. Wilson from Blairgowrie, who described how he had advised a party of 20 hillwalkers from Austria not to visit the region because "the hills have been destroyed by numerous wind farms with a lot more to come".

Campaigners fighting plans for a windfarm at Hampole were today planning to tell Doncaster councillors it was not just nearby residents who opposed the scheme. HALT - Hampole Against Large Turbines - were addressing a specially-called technical meeting for members of the council's planning committee. The protesters said hundreds of visitors to nearby Brodsworth Hall had also signed letters protesting against the plans.

The firm must apply to the Scottish Government rather than the local authority because of the scale of the plan. But Moray Council must be consulted and, if it objects, a public inquiry will be held. The government is due to make a decision on September 29.

A spate of windfarms planned for Dava Moor could become an attraction in their own right, developers behind one of the controversial proposals have hinted. The claim has been made by Dutch-owned windfarm firm Infinergy, who along with Cawdor Estate are behind proposals for the 17-turbine farm at Tom nan Clach. It comes in response to strong criticisms aired at a meeting organised in Carrbridge Village Hall on Wednesday evening by the village's community council to discuss the proposed development.

The Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown will host a major public meeting in Moray against plans to site a wind farm in the heart of the whisky trail. ...Tourists have flocked to Moray's famous whisky trail for decades, but owners of the distillery fear visitor numbers could dry up if the plans for nearly 60 turbines get the go ahead on the nearby Glenfiddich estate which is owned by London financier Christopher Morran.

A multi-million-pound scheme to promote tourism in the South Wales Valleys will be undermined if plans for two new wind farms get the go-ahead, campaigners claim. Plans for the wind farms straddling the Ogmore and Rhondda Valleys are due to go before councillors in July, when protesters will make their feelings known by marching on the council offices in Bridgend.

Bosses of a historic Northumberland estate told a wind farm inquiry the turbines would damage tourism. Trustees of the Ford and Etal Estates also revealed they had been close to allowing turbines to be erected on their land, before pulling out of negotiations following a "backlash of public opinion". ...The estate asked the developer to consider reducing the height of the turbines but this approach was rejected. As a result, the trustees pulled out of negotiations in early 2006, incurring "considerable abortive professional fees."

Campaigners have called for the Government to safeguard North East beauty spots as The Journal reveals hundreds of wind turbines could blight the region. Our wind map reveals nearly 250 turbines could pepper the North East landscape in the next year if planning chiefs give them the go-ahead. Information provided by the region's councils indicates an influx of turbines could begin to dominate the landscape within a few years.

The former head of tourism in Argyll and the Islands is to appear as a professional witness at two public inquiries into the refusal of separate wind farm proposals for hills opposite Rothesay Bay. James Fraser, formerly VisitScotland's area director for Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs, will give evidence against the plans when developer West Coast Energy appeals against refusal of its proposal at an inquiry which begins at the Queen's Hall in Dunoon on January 20.

Developers of a proposed Speyside wind farm have hit back at claims it will deter visitors and insist their plans will promote tourism in Moray. Dorenell Wind Farm on the Glenfiddich Estate will give local tourism a valuable boost and inject ongoing investment into the Moray economy, said Infinergy. And it accused a survey by a local accommodation provider, Tomintoul and Glenlivet Highland Holidays marketing group - which claimed a large number of tourists would be deterred from visiting the area because of the wind farm - of lacking objectivity and claimed it should be discounted because it asked leading questions.

A wind development in Moray will deter visitors from returning to the area, according to a tourism survey carried out by a local accommodation provider. A year long survey in the Dufftown-Glenlivet area suggests 17% of people, mainly walkers, would be put off coming back to the area if it had a wind farm. The survey, begun in March by Tomintoul and Glenlivet Highland Holidays marketing group, has had more than 200 forms returned by visitors staying in the Dufftown-Glenlivet area and expects to have 350 returned by March next year.

Giant wind generators planned in the centre of The Weaver Valley could cost the region's tourism trade millions in lost revenue - say objectors. The cluster of four 410ft high turbines, which are 100ft taller than Big Ben and would even dwarf the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Tower, would be amongst the tallest in the UK. ... Mike Cooksley, chairman of tourism organisation Visit Chester and Cheshire ...said: "Regional parks should be protected, developed and enjoyed by both visitors and residents. "The countryside of Cheshire is epitomised by this site and is seen by many as the antidote to urbanisation and relief from city life."

Earlier this year, the council decided to seek a full judicial review against the Secretary of State's decision to grant planning permission for a 66-megawatt wind farm at Fullabrook Down. The decision followed a Public Inquiry held between November 2006 and January 2007. During the Inquiry, the council argued strongly that the impact the development would have on the local landscape, the lives of those living in the area, the attractiveness of the area to visitors and local tourism far outweighed any benefits. It is challenging the Secretary of State's decision on landscape, noise and policy grounds.

Wind farms could cost the Scottish tourism industry millions of pounds and hundreds of lost jobs in a "worst case scenario", a report warned yesterday. The findings came in research that found wind farms had the potential for hitting jobs in tourism. The research was commissioned by the Scottish Government from Glasgow Caledonian University to assess what effect official priorities for wind farms were likely to have on tourism, for good or ill. Four areas were studied - the Borders; Caithness and Sutherland; Dumfries and Galloway, and Stirling, Perth and Kinross. For each area, the researchers estimated the likely impact on the tourism economy by 2015 of all the wind farms needed to meet the renewables obligation, compared to a situation where there were no wind farms.

Plans for two large windfarms in rural Denbighshire were yesterday snubbed by officials - despite Parliamentary orders to increase renewable energy production across the UK. Among the reasons cited were fears the removal of trees might lead to flooding, noise pollution and a possible adverse effect on tourism. Denbighshire councillors were advised by their own planners to give the green light to two windfarms totalling 29 turbines. But the county snubbed both plans - and went firmly against their officers' advice. The decision comes despite the same committee agreeing last year there should be windfarms on the exact same spot. ..."This sends a very clear message to the Assembly and to Westminster that local politicians want to determine local planning decisions made on local issues, and not be dictated to from elsewhere. "However, residents are very aware this is unlikely to be the end of the matter."

Plans for two separate wind farms visible from Exmoor have come up against another hurdle. Campaign group Open Spaces Society has launched objections to the projects, stating they would have a negative impact on the feel of the moor. The two projects are the Three Moors scheme at Knowstone, North Devon, where the company Airtricity Developments hopes to erect nine turbines, and Bickham Moor, near Oakford, Mid Devon, where Coronation Power want to erect four. Kate Ashbrook, Open Spaces Society's general secretary said: "We are dismayed that the wind-energy companies keep applying to erect turbines in this part of North Devon. There are already two outstanding applications nearby, at Batsworthy Cross and Cross Moor."

North Devon District Council wants a judicial review of plans for 22 turbines at Fullabrook Down. If the case goes ahead, the High Court could overturn the plans by Devon Wind Power. The plans were agreed by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, but the council says the impact on the area and local people outweigh any benefits. ...Council leader Mike Harrison said the authority had taken legal advice and it had a chance of winning its case. He said: "These are massive turbines and it will have a huge impact on the landscape. "It will affect people living nearby and the tourism industry."

Thirteen giant wind turbines will soon be towering over valley homes and the Brecon Beacons National Park. Neath Port Talbot Council has approved controversial plans for a wind farm at Maesgwyn, between Banwen and Glynneath. ...There were 45 objections sent in by residents, and concerns were also raised at public meetings, as well as by ward councillors. The main source of grievance was the impact the turbines would have on the area's countryside, as well as on tourism.

THE region's top planners have warned wind farms could "significantly change the landscape" of Northumberland - as Berwick Council prepares to approve 10 125m turbines. Councils have been told by the North-East Assembly that the "gentle hills of Northumberland" simply cannot accommodate the number of turbines originally planned for the region. Plans to build 10 turbines at Moorsyde were yesterday scaled back to seven as developer Your Energy bowed to growing demands for planners to consider the overall impact of any application.