A campaign to stop a controversial wind farm being built on moorland on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border is being relaunched after a power company appealed to the Government to allow the scheme to go ahead. A plan to build seven giant 350ft-high wind turbines on Saddleworth Moor was thrown out by councillors earlier this year because they felt it would damage the beauty of the surrounding countryside. But energy firm E.ON UK appealed against the decision made by Oldham Council and the application will be decided by the Government’s Planning Inspectorate at a hearing next year. The Saddleworth Moors Action Group originally fought the plan, and a public meeting has been called next month so campaigners can prepare for the appeal.

A CONTROVERSIAL proposal for a windfarm to be built near Talgarreg has collapsed after Ceredigion planners rejected the application after nearly three hours of heated debate. The development would have seen 10 wind turbines standing 100 metres high at Rhosygarn but members of the county council’s develop-ment committee rejected the scheme because they felt there were too many windfarms in Ceredigion. They decided to refuse the application despite officers raising no objections and claims by the developers and landowners involved that it would benefit the local community. Cllr Fred Williams said: “We have all done our bit for renewable energy and I think we must come to a stop. “We have done enough for wind energy in Ceredigion I wonder if the government would accept wind turbines on the white cliffs of Dover.”

OPPONENTS of a proposed wind farm, just over a mile from Allonby have one more week to make their objections known. The scheme has already received nearly 1,000 objections – the biggest response to a planning application for Allerdale Council. Objections have come in from all over the country to the five, 320ft-high turbines planned for Brownrigg Hall Farm. The windfarm, between Allonby and Westnewton, would be just outside the boundary of a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

RAMBLERS across Cumbria are to join forces in the fight against wind turbines as part of a national campaign to stop their march across the countryside. The move is in direct contrast to calls from other groups such as Greenpeace, who support windfarm developments. Mike Murgatroyd, secretary of the west Cumbria group of the Ramblers Association, said: “Ramblers, in common with a lot of other groups, appreciate the countryside and don’t want to see it despoiled. “I think they are a blight on the landscape, wherever they are.”

A large 22-turbine wind farm planned for the north Sutherland coast by an Edinburgh power company has been slammed as a "step too far" by one concerned local resident. The householder, who did not want to be named, said the proposed £40 million development on Skelpick and Rhifail Estates, near Bettyhill, would be a massive intrusion in the area. He said: "The turbines themselves are massive. The measurements quoted for them were in metres - around 125 metres in height from blade to tip - which made the turbines seem quite innocuous, but that is nearly 410 feet which is enormous. "The wind farm will be an intrusion on the skyline in Bettyhill and will be visible for miles and miles to anyone up at plateau level. "While I am in favour of wind farms and do not mind the development being in that location, I feel maybe it is a step too far."

PLANS are being put together to ensure that wind farm developers feed some of their profits into local communities. Some developers already make contributions but they are not under any legal obligation and there is no national strategy on how much should be paid and who should receive the cash. Now Scottish Borders Council is drawing up its own scheme which suggests that any settlement with developers should be at no less than £2,000 per megawatt of the farm's installed capacity.

A pair of wind turbines on farmland near March have been given the go-ahead despite opposition from conservationists. Fenland District Council’s planning committee agreed to allow the pair of 67-metre turbines subject to a Section 106 agreement. This is in addition to plans for three turbines on the same site, north-east of Ransonmoor Farm, Benwick Road, Doddington, which were approved last year. But conservation groups said they wanted guarantees about the impact on wildlife before more turbines were permitted. Cambridgeshire Bat Group said the site is home to the only known noctule maternity roost in the county.

People are being given a chance to see for themselves plans for a 10-turbine wind farm. E.ON UK, which runs Powergen, wants to build the development at Butterwick, in County Durham.

Councillors have vetoed plans for three wind-speed measuring masts and criticised their own energy policy for failing to give guidance on dealing with anemometer applications. Highland Council’s renewable energy strategy was published in May to provide supplementary planning policy in support of the region’s development plan. And although anemometer masts are designed to provide information on future windfarm proposals, officials say they do not constitute renewable energy proposals so are not covered by the policy.

Windfarm objectors in Skye are considering legal action in response to Highland Council’s approval of a 10-turbine project near the village of Edinbane. The Skye Windfarm Action Group (Swag) is consulting lawyers following yesterday’s go-ahead from the council’s local Skye and Lochalsh area planning committee for a quarry to support RDC’s development which received planning permission last week.

Crofters should finally acquire the 53,000-acre Galson Estate in the north of Lewis by Christmas, after more than four years of negotiation. A last-ditch grant and loan package of £10,000 has been agreed with the John Muir Trust, and a loan of £25,000 given by Western Isles Council. These are the final pieces in a jigsaw which allows the crofting community to close a £600,000-plus deal with the owners. But the John Muir Trust wants its money back if plans to build a massive windfarm on estate land proceed.

Protesters have scored a double victory this week after councillors backed campaigns to block two major new developments. Controversial plans to build a five-turbine windfarm in Rainworth, and proposals for a recycling plant on Mansfield’s Crown Farm Industrial Park, both went before Mansfield District Council’s Planning Committee on Monday. In both cases the majority of committee members sided with the protest groups and voted against the proposals — although it is only a partial victory for campaigners as other authorities will have the final say on both developments.

Penicuik community councillors have put off announcing their views on the proposed wind farm near the town for another month. Member of Penicuik and District Community Council were expected to give their opinion on E.ON’s plans for 18 turbines on Auchencorth Moss, south of the town. But last week they deferred a decision until community councillors canvassed the views of residents in their neighbourhoods. A straw poll carried out at the meeting showed that all but one of the community councillors present were opposed to the wind farm development.

Furious opponents of plans to double the size of electricity pylons through the Cairngorms National Park yesterday branded the Scottish Executive’s latest consultation exercise undemocratic. Park residents hoping to contribute to a preliminary local debate ahead of a full public inquiry into Scottish and Southern Energy’s proposals for the Beauly-Denny power line will have to travel at least 70 miles to a 2pm weekday meeting - in Perth.

THERE is only one private water supply which could potentially be affected by controversial plans for a £175 million Highland Perthshire windfarm – but a series of stringent mitigation measures are planned to prevent any adverse impacts, the public inquiry was told.

Labour are calling for up to six wind turbines to be put on the roof of Shire Hall in Gloucester, and for wind turbines to be installed on schools, libraries, and care homes throughout Gloucestershire.

Residents in part of the Westcountry fear massive wind turbines at twice the height of Nelson's Column could be built in the countryside where they live after an application for a test site was approved. Mid Devon District Council's planning committee approved the plans for a 60-metre anemometer mast at Bickham Moor, Oakford, which is close to the southern fringe of Exmoor. On Wednesday the committee agreed to grant the application, by Coronation Power Ltd, for a period of 18 months. The application was approved with an "informative note" to the applicants which said: "You are advised that the granting of planning permission for this temporary anemometer mast should not be interpreted as approval for a windfarm proposal on this site. Such an application would be considered on its merits." However, residents in the area have hit out at the approval claiming the company behind the proposals wants to build "vast" wind turbines in the area which they claim would be up to 125 metres high (410ft).

PERMISSION has been granted for a 60-metre aluminium tower to be constructed in the heart of Mid Devon moorland - despite fierce objection from local residents. Yesterday (Wednesday) planners at Mid Devon District Council granted permission for the giant anemometer mast on Bickham Moore, near Oakford, for 18 months. But concerns were also raised as the mast will be used to assess the area as a possible location for a small wind farm of four turbines. The application by Coronation Power for the 'met' mast received 167 letters of objection from individuals, parish councils and organisations.

FEARS over air safety have prompted council chiefs to refuse to back dozens of huge wind turbines planned for land between Doncaster and Lincolnshire. Campaigners have been fighting plans for the wind farms, which would litter the area between Thorne, near Doncaster, and Crowle with turbines 125 metres (410ft) tall. Among their fears are the visual impact such schemes would have. They say they would create a "ring of steel" around the protected and valuable Thorne and Hatfield moors site. Doncaster Council is expected to meet this week to debate a revised planning application for a number of the sites, including a controversial wind farm near Thorne.

The Ramblers' Association is set to announce its opposition to the construction of onshore wind farms across the country. The move is a major blow for the government, which is struggling to maintain its pledge to increase the amount of electricity generated by renewable energy sources. The decision to try to block large wind farms in Britain follows the association's role in persuading the Scottish Executive to stop construction of a group of turbines in Perthshire on the grounds that the development would damage the environment.