Residents fighting plans which could see a wind farm appear on picturesque Bickerton Hills have stepped up their bid to stop it. Families living close to the site met last week to discuss how to stop Banks Developments Ltd’s plans for a 60m wind- monitoring mast on land off Long Lane. ...It’s the first application of its type in the locality. Objectors saying it will be a blot on the landscape. Resident Kate Reeves said: “There was a very good turnout to the meeting and it just showed how very strongly locals feel about this. They are all very, very angry.”

Residents fighting plans which could see a wind farm appear on picturesque Bickerton Hills have stepped up their bid to stop it. Families living in close proximity to the proposed site held a meeting on Thursday as they face Banks Developments Ltd’s plans for a 60-metre high wind-monitoring mast on land off Long Lane. The proposal is for a temporary period of three years for wind speed data to be collected to see if the site is suitable for a wind farm and is the first application of its type in the district. Objectors saying it will be a blot on South Cheshire’s rural landscape. Resident Kate Reeves said: “There was a very good turnout to the meeting and it just showed how very strongly locals feel about this. There were no detractors at all. They are all very, very angry.”

Controversial plans to create an eight turbine wind farm in the Carron Valley in rural Stirling have been given the go-ahead by the council. ...Despite the promise of payment, the wind farm plan caused divisions among Carron Valley's residents. Planning officials had originally recommended the application be refused. Scottish Natural Heritage also objected to the visual impact of the wind farm. Scotia Wind said if the plans to construct eight turbines 125m in height, a new access road, bridge, electricity sub-station and meteorological monitoring mast went ahead, they would pay an index-linked cash windfall of £48,000 a year to the local community.

"Councillors, I believe you have the power to take hundreds of pounds from E.ON or preserve a historic view and environment that generations have and will enjoy. "We must not be overwhelmed by commercial interests today. Our ancestors thought of tomorrow. Let's do the same." ...PEPA representative Dr Tony Trewavas informed the committee that 2402 written objections had been submitted regarding the proposed wind farm. Around 1300 were from Penicuik residents with others from the Scottish Borders and others who had moved away from the area. Objections had also been lodged by Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Borders Council, Historic Scotland, West Linton and Howgate Community Councils, the Esk Valley Trust, Friends of the Pentland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Applause filled the council chamber last week as councillors emphatically rejected plans for a controversial Afan Valley wind farm. Councillors on the planning and development control committee voted to refuse permission for four wind turbines to be built on Mynydd Corrwg Fechan, near Glyncorrwg. Members of the Glyncorrwg Action Group, who had campaigned against the wind farm, packed the public gallery and broke into spontaneous applause as the unanimous decision was announced. ...Head of planning Geoff White said in his report: "This development would create unacceptable impacts upon the character and appearance of the countryside which are not outweighed by the benefits of providing renewable energy."

North Devon District Council wants a judicial review of plans for 22 turbines at Fullabrook Down. If the case goes ahead, the High Court could overturn the plans by Devon Wind Power. The plans were agreed by Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks, but the council says the impact on the area and local people outweigh any benefits. ...Council leader Mike Harrison said the authority had taken legal advice and it had a chance of winning its case. He said: "These are massive turbines and it will have a huge impact on the landscape. "It will affect people living nearby and the tourism industry."

Renewable energy is the way ahead but not through "grossly inefficient" wind farms which gobble up Scottish Government subsidies, it has been claimed. A new group formed to fight the latest wind farm proposal for Moray aims to galvanise community opposition to the plan. Save Our Scenic Moray (SOS Moray) has been created in Dufftown to try and repel a proposal for a 70-plus turbine development at Dorenell Farm, Cabrach. The action group was formed three weeks ago following public exhibitions by developer Infinergy on the wind farm development on the Glenfiddich Estate.

THE first batch of ballot papers were yesterday dispatched to residents who live closest to the proposed site of a contentious 21-turbine wind farm west of Thurso. Caithness West Community Council is surveying the 1000-or-so electors in its patch to find out whether they support or oppose the 57.5 megawatt development. The timing is particularly sensitive as Baillie Wind Farm Ltd's scheme for farmland near Shebster is being tabled at a Highland Council hearing next month. The community council is among the objectors to the proposal, which would add to the existing nearby six-turbine cluster at Forss. But it is pledging to reflect the feedback of the vote in its representation.

NATIONAL security could be compromised by more wind turbines in the Swaffham area, but councillors have been recommended to grant permission. The Ministry of Defence warns the six new giant turbines would have "an unacceptable impact upon the air traffic control radar at RAF Marham and Lakenheath and also against the air defence radar at Trimingham". But Breckland councillors could give the go-ahead on Monday for the turbines to be built on an open farmland site between the A1065 Castleacre Road and Sporle Road in Swaffham and Sporle.

A contentious plan to build four towering wind turbines by a Norfolk coastal village has gone back to the drawing board to address strong fears over the impact of the structures on the countryside. SLP Energy has withdrawn its application to build the 125m high turbines at Hemsby, near Yarmouth, because it says it needs more time to revise its scheme to overcome a swathe of objections from residents, councils, the Ministry of Defence(MOD) and countryside groups. Concerns were raised that the turbines would loom over the village's skyline and blight its appearance and be detrimental to a nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest. Objections were also submitted by the MOD, which said the turbines would interfere with radar at RAF Trimingham and residents said they were worried the proposed site would hamper television signals.

A BUSINESSMAN who wants to open an eco-friendly holiday village could have his plans scuppered - because officials would rather build a windfarm. ...A little-known planning rule wipes out development from areas around windfarms, which are being encouraged as the future of environmentally friendly energy production across Wales. ...WAG guidance states "local authorities should be aware that other developments could sterilise land for wind power proposals." A report to go before Denbighshire's planning committee today says it would therefore be "inappropriate" to grant permission for the cabins - which ironically, would be powered by small turbines.

The pylons would form part of the upgrading of the power link between north and south Scotland. Extra electricity from new wind farms being built in the Highlands must be transmitted to power users in cities in the south. Scottish and Southern Energy says the £320m upgrade - on the line between Beauly, near Inverness, and Denny, near Stirling - would consist of 600 pylons, 40 to 64 metres high, with a section going through Cairngorms National Park. The idea has horrified landowners, wildlife groups and walkers: 18,000 people have formally objected to the Beauly-Denny plan. ...should Britain's commitment to renewable energy take precedence over its need to preserve its wild places?

Business Secretary John Hutton says he wants to open up British seas to allow enough new turbines - up to 7,000 - to power all UK homes by the year 2020. He acknowledged "it is going to change our coastline", but said the issue of climate change was "not going away". The thrust of the idea was backed by Tory Alan Duncan: "We're an island nation. There's a lot of wind around." ...The other choice was, he said, whether it was "easier to have these developments offshore rather than onshore". Asked what would happen if there was no wind for a few days, Mr Hutton said that was why there had to be a mix of energy sources - including nuclear power - to cover for calmer weather periods.

Wind farm plans which generated huge controversy in the Afan Valley have suffered a massive blow.Neath Port Talbot planning officers have advised councillors to throw out Eco2's proposal to put four giant turbines on Mynydd Corrwg Fechan overlooking Glyncorrwg. At 125 metres, they would have been some of the biggest in Wales, around 34 metres taller than those already in place at Ffynnon Oer in the same valley. The authority's planning committee is due to make a final decision on the 12MW scheme on Tuesday, but, sensing victory, delighted campaigners have welcomed the officers' stance. "This is a great Christmas present

Councillors in Conwy have voted to refuse planning permission for the development of a windfarm near Cerrigydrudion. Mwdwl Eithin, situated in the heart of the countryside, was the proposed site of a 12 turbine wind farm by developer Nuon, but at the last planning meeting county councillors decided not to grant the application. Their decision went against the recommendation of local authority planning officers, but represented the views of the majority of local residents. ..."Wind farms should only be developed when they are supported by local communities. "Everyone would agree for the need for more sustainable and renewable energy and wind power certainly has a role to play, but there must be sensitivity to the effects of wind farms on local communities and their impact on the countryside, particularly in relation to tourism."

Objectors have pledged to "vigorously oppose" the planned £75 million 20turbine Davidstow community wind farm plan - despite major changes to the scheme aimed at appeasing protestors.Community Windpower Ltd says it has now redesigned the wind farm proposals planned for Davidstow Woods as a result of earlier consultation with the community. ..."Our initial reaction is that these revisions would reduce neither the proliferation of wind turbines in North Cornwall, nor the adverse effect which these huge machines would have on the local landscape and wildlife."

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."

One of Northumberland's longest-serving councillors has given his evidence to the Middlemoor inquiry, after years of being 'gagged' by local government rules. Political heavyweight John Taylor, who is county member for Longhoughton division and district representative for Hedgeley Ward of Alnwick District Council, was finally able to break his silence on Friday afternoon on the plans for 18 turbines near South Charlton. He said: ..."This is the first time that I have been able to comment from a personal point of view on the matter. "As I have said previously, I have lived and worked in Northumberland for most of my life and I feel very strongly that these proposals will have the most detrimental effect on the landscape.

A popular skydiving site has been saved from the threat of closure after planners unanimously voted against a bid to build a wind farm. Peterlee Parachute Centre, at Shotton Airfield, feared it would have to put a stop to jumps if the go-head was given to install two 111metre-high turbines at Edder Acres Farm. ...All nine of the members on District of Easington Council's development control committee agreed with officer recommendations the application from A7 Energy should be refused because of the impact it would have on the centre.

After generating huge interest across Berwickshire and beyond, a controversial planning application has been rejected by Scottish Borders Council after it was decided that it contravened key council policies. Meeting on Monday, the Council's Development and Building Control Committee, decided to follow the recommendation of planning officials and unanimously put a halt to the plans to have a windfarm on Coldingham Moor. Since it was originally lodged last year, the application has sparked a vast difference in opinion, gathering responses on a local, national and even international level.