Planners at Cannock Chase Council have had to fork out the cash for a report about the noise impact the three proposed turbines for Bleak House open cast mine site would have. The decision on the application for the site between Heath Hayes and Chase Terrace has now been delayed until next year because the noise consultants require more information from Harworth Power.

Andrew Randall lives in King's Dyke, Whittlesey, with his pregnant partner Rachel Barford and one-year-old daughter Aimee, just 100 yards from the towering machine. He said the constant noise from the turning blades is causing sleepless nights and stress for Rachel, who is four months pregnant. Mr Randall (23) said: "Rachel's stressed all the time and she can't cope with the lack of sleep. I'm concerned about the health of the baby. ..."We've got a hot tub in the back garden, but it's a waste because we can't go out there, it's just too noisy."

Noise control officers may be powerless to stop work on a wind farm causing sleepless nights for residents. People living on the seafront in Clacton and Holland-on-Sea have been woken up in the early hours by thudding, drilling and vibrations. The noise is being caused by building work at a new wind farm at Gunfleet Sands, 9km off the coast of Clacton.

Homeowners in Aberdeenshire hoping to install domestic wind turbines in built-up areas are likely to have their applications rejected unless manufacturers provide the council with information detailing their impact, a councillor warned yesterday. Garioch area committee chairman Martin Kitts-Hayes made the comment following the "very reluctant rejection" of proposals to erect a turbine at a home at Kinmuck, near Inverurie. The committee is now planning to write a letter to companies who make the machinery, urging them to provide facts and figures on expected noise levels.

Government departments responsible for the increase in onshore wind turbines are using staff from energy companies to advise them on noise and safety issues. Concerns have been raised that the potential conflict of interest, denied by the civil servants, could result in the Government making policy decisions which directly benefit turbine manufacturers and energy companies. Guidance on noise issues was sent to planning inspectors as a result of Government meetings which in one case were chaired by a representative of RWE npower.

Her family suffered severe sleep deprivation and were forced to move out to a rented house in Spalding. She said: "This result is excellent for everybody who has had their lives devastated by noise, both audible and low frequency, from wind farms. "I think it's a very fair result and the tribunal was well aware it was being asked to make a national precedent. "This is one battle won but there's still the rest of the war to go."

A couple have won their fight to lower the council tax banding on their property, which dropped in value after wind turbines were built nearby. Julian and Jane Davis, along with their daughter Emily, had to endure endless sleepless nights after a wind farm, with turbines 100 metres high, was built less than 900 metres away from their home. In May 2007, the family abandoned their Deeping St Nicholas home and rented a property in Spalding five miles away. However, the house became un-sellable because of the problems created by the turbines.

A couple who say their home has been blighted by noise from a wind farm have won a 20% reduction in council tax because the house's value has dropped. ...Although investigators sent by the Lincolnshire Valuation Tribunal to measure noise levels did not find any problems, the panel conceded the construction of the windfarm "had had a significant detrimental effect on the appellants' quiet enjoyment of their properties. "The tribunal therefore found that the nuisance caused by the wind farm was real and not imagined and it would have had some effect upon the potential sale price of the appeal dwellings."

At a lively meeting in which the Princes contingent were often heckled and saw one couple walk out, objections centred around increased noise and health and safety issues. Paul Jackson, general manager of the Princes plant, said the turbine would reduce the firm's energy costs. He said: "We need to be as competitive as we can in what can be a very aggressive and competitive market.

An energy company has pulled out of plans to build a wind farm in Rhondda due to concerns over noise. E.On and community group Arts Factory wanted to build the eight-turbine wind farm between the Rhondda Fach and Fawr, near Ferndale. But E.On said it was worried that the project could potentially pose a "noise nuisance" to nearby homes. Arts Factory said it was looking for a new partner so that it could continue with the scheme.

A family forced to move home because of the noise generated by a nearby wind turbine have given evidence to the House of Lords. Jane and Julian Davis were plagued by sleepless nights when they lived close to the wind farm at Deeping St Nicholas and eventually moved out. They were recently told that their house was unmarketable and now live in Spalding. They documented their wind turbine nightmare and sent evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, which is investigating the economics of renewable energy.

Jane and Julian Davis left their Deeping St Nicholas home at Christmas 2006 after months of sleepless nights due to noise and vibration from the turbines, which are less than 1km from their house. However, there is a way forward at last after complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman over the handling of their issue by South Holland District Council, and monitoring of noise levels will now take place once more to establish the extent of the issue. Mrs Davis said: "Now we start all over again - but at last it is being accepted there are issues.

A West Cumbrian man claims his life has been made a total misery because of a windfarm just half a mile from his home. Ron Williams, of The Swallows, Bothel, has revealed that he is taking sleeping pills and suffering mental anguish because of the Wharrels Hill turbines. The 73-year-old is now urging people living near two proposed windfarm sites to do all they can to oppose the applications. ...He said that the low frequency noise had the worst impact. He said: "The swush, swush, swush as each blade breaks the flow of the wind past the tower, obviously three times per revolution is extremely debilitating. The affect is worse at nights when ambient noise level from traffic on the A595 is low."

Two wind farms will not go ahead after officials rejected the proposals which would have seen 29 turbines erected. Planners had been expected to approve the projects in Denbighshire at Llyn Brenig, near Cerrigydrudion, Conwy, and at Gorsedd Bran in Clocaenog Forest. But at a meeting to decide the matter, 18 councillors voted against the proposals, with just four in favour. There were two abstentions.

A family who suffered from sleepless nights thanks to nearby wind turbines are continuing the fight against the noise. Jane and Julian Davis, of Deeping St Nicholas, decided to move their family away from the wind farm which was producing a low frequency din that saw them struggle to sleep. The couple complained to South Holland District Council but were left frustrated after the authority's investigations revealed that they were unable to distinguish between the sound made by the turbines and any other noise. Mr and Mrs Davis were upset at the findings and say that it makes planning conditions, based on a government report which assesses and rates the noise given off by wind farms, unenforceable.

PLANS for a South Yorkshire wind farm could be blown away - unless a power company comes up with an urgent background noise report. Councillors are due to consider an application by Cornwall LIght and Power to build three 95-metre high wind turbines at Loscar Farm, Harthill, on the border of Sheffield and Rotherham, on January 31. But the company has been told that unless it supplies a report on projected background noise from the turbines the application could be refused. Campaigners have already opposed the wind farm plans on the grounds the turbines will be a blot on the landscape and because of possible noise nuisance.

A PUBLIC meeting has been called to discuss controversial proposals to erect 13 wind turbines across a swathe of Fenland countryside. Peterborough City Council planning chiefs are currently assessing applications for two separate schemes on neighbouring strips of land abutting the Cambridgeshire border. ...Mr Potts said: "We respectfully ask that any application for wind turbines is taken after the findings of Defra's investigation. We do not want the Fens to become a dumping ground for these inefficient systems."

An application for a 25 metre-high wind turbine at Plymstock's Coombe Dean School has been withdrawn ...The school applied for planning permission from Plymouth City Council in July but had to withdraw its application this week due to the lack of "noise information" provided.

A PLAN to put a wind turbine in the grounds of a rural school has run out of puff amid concerns it will create too much noise. ...Peter Evans, the council's director of public protection, has expressed doubts over the plan. He is concerned about the noise the turbine would make and the possible health effects. The council's planning committee has now delayed a decision for a site visit. In his report to the committee, Mr Evans said: "The background noise level at the school site is such that we believe the turbine will cause sleep disturbance to local residents during the night."

The initial application was refused by the City of York Council and an appeal was refused by the Planning Inspectorate, because planners were unsure how much noise the turbine would generate. ..."I note the appellant's frustration with the perceived lack of council officer support for this scheme, ...However, such schemes should not be at the expense of detracting from neighbouring residents' enjoyment of their properties and in this case insufficient information has been provided to conclude that the proposal would not harm the living conditions of existing residential occupiers."