It is a baroque masterpiece designed by one of the world's greatest architects and among the north of Scotland's biggest tourist attractions. Looming above are pieces of 21st-century engineering kit that rise to 330 feet above the skyline. Now, Scotland's cultural watchdog, Historic Scotland, has been accused of failing to protect the 18th-century Duff House from the effects of massive wind turbines.

Isle of Lewis is an area of outstanding beauty Conservation campaigners have welcomed a Scottish Parliament report that has slated plans for Lewis wind farm because it would destroy the scenic view. ...The Report - commissioned by Scottish Ministers - concluded: "Support for renewable energy development and the need to protect and enhance Scotland's natural and historic environment must be regarded as compatible goals.

A wind farm company was 'counter-productive' in misleading people living in north Northumberland over the height of turbines planned near to their homes, the Government's energy minister has said. ...E.ON fell foul of the Advertising Standards Agency after promotional photomontages for the proposed West Ancroft installation showed turbines only 43 metres tall. Two complaints against the company were upheld, that the images were misleading and breached rules on truthfulness.

Householders living near to Aston Hall Farm between Aston and Burston say a proposal to install three turbines on the land by Severn Trent Water has already blighted property prices. Homeowner Rob Jackson, whose Enson Lane home is 520 metres away from the site of a proposed turbine, said the value of his house had dropped by between 20 and 30 per cent since he had it valued back in January. ..."It is devastating because planning authorities do not take property prices into consideration."

It takes less than five minutes to walk from the church at one end of Moreleigh to the pub at the other but the small community living in the cottages in between have a range of opinions on whether Jonathan Dimbleby is welcome in their Devonshire village. To some, he is an arriviste whose plans to erect a wind turbine in his garden will spoil their view across the South Hams.

Campaigners have warned if the latest East Riding wind farm application is granted, it could set a precedent condemning the area as an 'industrial wasteland'. Renewable Energy Systems (RES) is seeking permission to build a nine-turbine wind farm near Roos but residents have objected. The application will be considered by East Riding Council's planning committee.

Critics of one of the largest wind farms planned for Scotland warn it may never save more Co2 than it releases from fragile peat bogs. ...[They] warn building the wind farm could release so much Co2 from damaged peat bogs that the scheme may never save a net amount of greenhouse gas emissions. An objection from RSPB Scotland yesterday followed another from the John Muir Trust earlier this week.

Wind farms risk becoming "redundant symbols" of Government efforts to combat climate change, the Campaign to Protect Rural England has warned. ..."What is going to happen is we will end up with these monstrosities in the landscape when other renewables have been developed and they will not take them down," she said.

A landowner has bowed to pressure from campaigners fighting plans for a wind farm they argued would damage views of one of Scotland's most iconic landmarks. The controversial proposals in Lewis would have damaged the view of the island's ancient Callanish Stones, according to those fighting the scheme. It would also have set a precedent, they argued, as the first wind farm built in a National Scenic Area in Scotland.

Britain's most beautiful landscapes are under threat after permission was given for a wind farm to be built on the outskirts of the Peak District National Park, environmental campaigners have warned.

Selby District Council this week agreed to form a stringent wind farm framework in a bid to stop the area skyline being "decimated with turbines". Members of the authority's policy and resources committee voted on Tuesday night to spend £30,000 to employ experts to assess all wind farm applications. ..."We've currently got eight or nine applications coming in, and I don't think we want to have our whole skyline decimated with turbines."

The installation of three further turbines at a wind farm in west Wales has been rejected after an inspector concluded that their visual impact on users of a nearby road would be unacceptable.

The Rural North, Oundle and Thrapston plan states that wind farms will only be acceptable under set criteria specifying that turbines must not subdue or disrupt the landscape. Applications would have to meet all the criteria to be successful. However, inspector John Mattocks vetoed the policy despite wide support because it fails to comply with national climate change and renewables guidance.

Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, announced yesterday that planning rules would be changed to make it easier for 6,000 onshore wind turbines to be built. Britain's "default position" would be to accept new onshore turbines, he said. The expansion in wind farms was included in the Government's Renewable Energy Strategy, which aims to cut energy use and carbon dioxide emissions, and reduce Britain's dependence on fossil fuels.

Plans to build a wind farm near a Shropshire town have been refused following a public inquiry. Nuon UK's proposals for seven wind turbines up to 360ft (110m) high at Bearstone, near Market Drayton, were considered at a public inquiry in May. ...However, the Planning Inspectorate said the scheme would mean a "marked and unacceptable reduction" for nearby residential areas.

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 church in the Northamptonshire village of Crick will become ground zero for a giant wind farm. That is the claim of the anti-wind farm campaign group, Stop the Spin, which this week addressed a packed meeting in East Haddon to discuss fears about the proliferation of wind turbines in the county.

The secretary of state for energy and climate change Ed Miliband has responded to a set of challenging questions on energy and the landscape from the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Among questions he has answered, Miliband clarified his controversial statement that it should "be socially unacceptable to be against wind turbines in your area - like not wearing a seatbelt or driving past a zebra crossing."

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."

The Scottish Parliament's economy, energy and tourism committee this week called for a speedy approval of the Beauly to Denny line despite nearly 20,000 objections. ...Developers say the upgrade is needed to carry renewable energy from schemes in the Highlands and Islands.