Within weeks of the Government's Energy Review (1) proposing that planning controls be relaxed to speed up the introduction of wind farms, a new report (2) reveals that badly-sited wind turbines can cause real noise problems for local communities.

Nearly 40 jobs at a Holsworthy yoga centre could be lost if plans for a neighbouring wind farm go ahead. The British School of Yoga, which chose the site at Dunsland Cross because of its tranquility, says the calm of the centre will be shattered and it may be forced to move. Bolsterstone Plc, a North Midlands-based property development and investment company, wants to put up four 105 metre wind turbines.

"Onshore wind farms are a health hazard to people living near them because of the low- frequency noise that they emit, according to new medical studies. Doctors say that the turbines - some of which are taller than Big Ben - can cause headaches and depression among residents living up to a mile away."

FEARS Louth could become a 'forest' of wind turbines prompted town councillors to object to a plan to build the first one in the town. Nancy Stockwell wants to put up an eight metre high wind turbine in her back garden in Grimsby Road, Louth. But Coun Tony Lione said: "I'd hate to see in ten years time a forest of these things around the town. The neighbours will suffer with the noise."

"I have seen a lot of wind turbines and as you move further away you get a vortex effect and it sounds like six refrigerated lorries in a traffic jam.

Throughout the lengthy debate, the couple remained on the fence and were largely untroubled about the prospect of having a wind farm practically on their doorstep. But for the past eight months, Julian and Jane say the repetitive thumping of air and humming of electric has blown away their peace. "It's very hard to describe how I'm feeling after nearly a year of living next to the turbines," says Mr Davis, 42. "The biggest problem is the low frequency noise these things produce. "It is not immediately noticeable, but once you hear it and feel the vibration, it begins to drive you mad. "It's just that little bit faster than the noise of a heartbeat, so your body is constantly racing to catch up. We've had friends who come to stay with us who don't notice the noise and vibration at first, and think we're exaggerating. "It's only after a couple of days that it becomes a constant irritation which you just can't shake off.

When the Siddells moved to rural Ayrshire, they hoped for a life of peace and quiet. Now, at night, they say they can’t hear the television properly because of the wind turbines that loom over their converted steading.

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.

It is believed a twisted blade was to blame for excess noise being reported at the Bradworthy wind farm site.Torridge district council was made aware of the problem, and parish councillors were told at their last meeting it had finally been resolved. Residents had complained of excess noise coming from the site at Forestmoor which is home to North Devon’s first set of wind turbines. Torridge said the environmental protection team was contacted by the parish council and one of its officers visited the site confirming noise levels were higher than normal. The council got in touch with turbine operators, Energie Kontor, and carried out follow-up visits. Both the district and parish councils say noise levels have now returned to normal.

A DRAMATIC stop has been put on an application to erect 10 of the largest wind turbines in Wales on a site near Pencader.

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.

A couple forced from their home by noisy wind turbines are prepared to take their fight to the ombudsman. Jane and Julian Davis moved out of their farm near wind turbines in Deeping St Nicholas in May after months of sleepless nights caused by noise. And they believe there is no end in sight to the disruption to their lives because South Holland District Council has been dragging its heels investigating the case. Mrs Davis believes that the council has done nothing to look into the issues of noise at the site since last summer but instead left the investigation in the hands of operator Fenland Windfarms. She said: "We let them get on with it thinking they were doing something but it turns out they weren't. "Even in the full knowledge that we were driven out of our home they still did nothing. "I absolutely hit the roof when I found out."

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.

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 family whose lives have been blighted by wind turbine noise have abandoned their Deeping St Nicholas home. Jane and Julian Davis and daughter Emily had been moving between their home and a "safe house" in Spalding on a daily basis whenever they found noise from the Deeping St Nicholas wind farm unbearable at night. Now they say they cannot go through another summer of interrupted sleep and are leaving the family home to live long term at a rented house until the situation improves.

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.

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.

On a sunny spring morning, Deeping St Nicholas provides a perfect snapshot of English country life. The only buildings that break the flat horizon of the Lincolnshire fens are silver-grey church spires and neat red-brick farmhouses, around which are clustered barns and silos. A covey of wood pigeons clap their wings as they take off from the black, loamy, fertile soil striped with green lines of oilseed rape. And then you hear it. "Whoompf ... whoompf ... whoompf ..." Like the sound of an approaching train that never comes, the thumps that break the still air are not overpoweringly loud - at about 65 decibels, they're the level of a lorry going by at 30 miles an hour 100 yards away. But what is so menacing is the regularity and the scope of the noise, which feels like a giant heartbeat shaking the earth. When you see the culprits - the eight mammoth wind turbines installed just outside Deeping St Nicholas last May - you're actually surprised that the noise isn't louder. These aren't the little propellers that David Cameron nails to his roof to warm his cocoa and heat his children's baths. They're veritable behemoths - 100 metres high, as tall as Big Ben's tower.

The government has ruled out further research into wind turbine noise following the publication of a university report into the phenomenon. Salford University concluded the incidence of Aerodynamic Modulation, aerodynamic noise, (AM) from the UK's wind farm fleet is low. But its recommendation that more research might be "prudent" was rejected. Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said: "Where there are legitimate problems we will address them. But it is essential that we produce more wind power if we are to meet our climate change and security of supply aims."

When Stephen Munday spent £20,000 on a wind turbine to generate electricity for his home, he was proud to be doing his bit for the environment. He got planning permission and put up the 40ft device two years ago, making sure he stuck to strict noise level limits. But neighbours still complained that the sound was annoying - and now the local council has ordered him to switch it off.