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).

A petition is calling on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to push for wind farm developments to be suspended in the UK. Internet lobby group Proact, which co-ordinates wildlife campaigns, said it has collected 3,248 signatures. Proact’s David Conlin said the society does not go “far enough” in opposing wind developments. The RSPB said it will respond to the petition, but added that it deals with farm proposals on a case by case basis.

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.

WIND farm supporters launched 'personal' insults at Dr David Bellamy when he spoke at a public meeting in Skipsea. Dr Bellamy was at Far Grange Park on Monday evening to speak about his fears about the turbines, dozens of which are planned for the East Riding. But he was heckled by people dressed in costumes and carrying banners in support of wind farm schemes, like the one proposed at Lissett.

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.

The Ramblers’ Association today called for an urgent reform of the subsidy which supports renewable energy developments on the UK, including a massive reduction in the funding given to large scale land based windfarms. The call comes after the RA’s Chief Executive, Christine Elliott, examined the impact of new windfarm developments in the Scottish Highlands.

ALL Scotland's electricity needs could be met from renewable energy sources by 2050 under a bold vision for a greener future unveiled yesterday by Nicol Stephen, the deputy first minister. In an hugely ambitious pledge, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats vowed to go further than the Executive's existing commitment to meet 40 per cent of the country's electricity requirements through renewable sources by 2020.

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.