Villagers fighting plans for a wind farm on the outskirts of Teesside have called on the area's civil and military airports to back their campaign. They are urging Durham Tees Valley Airport and RAF Leeming to object to the proposed 11 turbines in Bishopton near Stockton and Darlington on the grounds of air traffic safety. "If the turbines mean there is radar or air traffic interference, then surely lives are being put at risk," said action group spokesman Peter Wood. ...An MoD spokesman said: "All applications are assessed on a site by site basis." Similar air traffic safety concerns have been raised regarding potential plans for a wind farm of five turbines between the villages of Hilton and Seamer.

THE first batch of ballot papers were yesterday dispatched to residents who live closest to the proposed site of a contentious 21-turbine wind farm west of Thurso. Caithness West Community Council is surveying the 1000-or-so electors in its patch to find out whether they support or oppose the 57.5 megawatt development. The timing is particularly sensitive as Baillie Wind Farm Ltd's scheme for farmland near Shebster is being tabled at a Highland Council hearing next month. The community council is among the objectors to the proposal, which would add to the existing nearby six-turbine cluster at Forss. But it is pledging to reflect the feedback of the vote in its representation.

Leaders at Hampshire County Council, which owns around 21,000 acres, have ruled that they will not support big wind energy developments on their land. They say turbines could have a ‘very significant impact in terms of visual intrusion, urbanisation, damage to historic character and to tranquillity'.

An East Yorkshire resident is calling for a change in the law so new wind turbines cannot be built near homes Currently there is no minimum separation distance between homes and the structures, but company director Larry Fleming, from Spaldington, near Goole, wants a 2km limit. Villagers are fighting proposals by two separate developers for 14 turbines standing 400ft tall, three times higher than Howden Minster.

A castle on the outskirts of Banff will play a pivotal role in plans for a new wind turbine development. Inchdrewer Castle, which is three miles south-west of the town, stands near the site of a proposed two-turbine development at Strath of Brydock, Alvah. The possible effect of the development on the setting of the castle, which is category A listed, is causing concern to Historic Scotland and local authority planners. Historic Scotland claims the visual effect of the proposed turbines on the unoccupied castle would be “severe”.

Daventry District councillors voted to refuse plans submitted by electricity firm E.ON to build several wind turbines close to the Battle of Naseby site on Wednesday night, after planning officers recommended it should be rejected. Numerous bodies voiced serious concerns or objected to the plans.

The decision on whether to give the go ahead for Enertrag UK Ltd to locate a wind farm at Chase Farm, Baumber, is due to be made at a three-week-long public inquiry beginning on October 5. ..."We do feel strongly that this proposal at Baumber is not the right site. The countryside and old buildings of our county are very precious and it is so easy to damage them by not thinking carefully about the ways that they could change."

A secluded area, once frequented by Winston Churchill and which provided inspiration for novelists such as Anthony Trollope and Iris Murdoch, is set to take centre stage at the public inquiry into controversial proposals for a line of giant pylons through the Highlands. As the Inverness local session of the Beauly to Denny power line inquiry enters into its third week, the inquiry reporters are due to hear evidence from community representatives in Strathglass and Glen Urquhart plus Alex Grigg, joint owner of the historic Hilton Estate at the head of Strathglass. Over the years Hilton has been host to many distinguished visitors including prime ministers William Gladstone and later Winston Churchill, who learned to drive there.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) like the Lake District national park could be the sites of new energy infrastructure including wind farms, Ed Miliband has suggested. Asked if wind farms could be considered in AONBs, Mr Miliband said: "In exceptional circumstances, it may be possible for some limited development to take place without unacceptable impacts on these important sites."

A 110-metre wind turbine is to be erected inside the house of an opposition group chairman - if a new photomontage is to be believed. The document shows one of Your Energy's seven proposed structures near Berwick "piercing" the home of Mike Maud, who leads the Moorsyde Action group (MAG), and another of his properties.

“We believe the Scottish Executive should urgently produce in a transparent and consultative way an energy strategy for Scotland including the electricity distribution network. In this way, all relevant factors – social, environmental and economic – can be weighted up throughout Scotland. This would then provide a national framework for planning decisions allowing prioritisation of renewable energy development to less sensitive areas”.

An application to increase the height of three proposed wind turbines at Flimby has been turned down by Allerdale council. Flimby Wind Energy Limited wanted to increase the height of the turbines from 335ft to 377ft and lengthen the blades. The plans had been recommended for approval by Allerdale planning officers, despite objections from the parish councils of Dearham, Broughton Moor and Seaton. Councillors this week refused the plans by nine votes to six.

Councillors in Huntingdonshire are being asked to back a bid which could set a minimum distance of two kilometres between wind farms and homes. Nearly 800 people signed a petition calling on Huntingdonshire District Council to draw up a policy on the location of wind farms and housing - well over the 500 limit required to force a debate on the issue.

A Lewis-based archaeologist has hit out at proposals to erect a Western Isles windfarm on a famous and mystical hill formation that resembles a woman lying on her back. If the plan is successful, Cailleach na Mointeach, the Old Woman of the Moors, would have some of the 53 turbines sprouting from her knees. The Cailleach, also known as the Sleeping Goddess, can be seen to the south side of the ancient Callanish stone circle.

Big name backing has come forward in opposition to two proposed wind farms at Spaldington who claim the turbines would be "visually horrific, inappropriate and ineffective". Throwing their weight behind the STOP (Spaldington Turbines Opposition Project) group is not only Howden and Haltemprice MP David Davies but MEP Godfrey Bloom and international best-selling author Frederick Forsyth. ...David Davis told the Courier this week: "Both of these proposed wind farms would seriously blight the lives of people who live nearby.

Campaigners fighting plans for a wind farm near the Naseby battlefield site say new proposals to move the turbines further east will make no difference to their visual impact for villagers. ...the latest plans place the turbines on lower ground further east, still south of the A14 but closer to Kelmarsh Hall. Eon says this will create less visual impact on the villages of Naseby and Haselbech.

The future of a proposed wind farm is hanging in the balance after a second authority refused permission for the scheme. Developer Broadview Energy wants to build five 125m wind turbines, between Hilton and Seamer, near Yarm. The plans immediately sparked concerns including visual impact, the potential consequences on the surrounding road network and effects to wildlife.

Plans for a controversial wind farm near Pontefract have been slammed by a Wakefield Council consultant. The news has come as a massive boost to local pressure groups fighting a dogged campaign to see off the plans by developers Banks Developments. ...Campaigners in Pontefract claim the wind masts are too close to local homes, will ruin their peaceful community and drive down house prices. ...Since then the Landscape Architect working for Wakefield Council has drafted his own response to the plans. A summary released by PWAG reads: "The turbines are close to residential dwellings. Their height results in them being visible over a relatively large area and the impact on the landscape character of Went Edge will be severe.

Protesters campaigning against a wind farm in the countryside straddling Barnsley and Sheffield have been dealt a blow with a fresh council report which suggests the benefits of the scheme would outweigh the visual impact. The planning application for the five turbines, which would be 400ft tall, has gone to Barnsley Council because the land where they would be sited at Sheephouse Heights falls within the town's boundaries. But they would be so close to the border with Sheffield that the council there has been asked to comment before the application is considered.

Cumbria’s Everest hero, two high-profile broadcasters, a leading environmentalist and a major landowner have joined the fight to prevent a windfarm being built on fells near Shap. Sir Chris Bonington, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Eric Robson, David Bellamy and the Earl of Lonsdale have all agreed to become patrons of the pressure group Community Opposed to Shap Turbines (COST).