Southend Airport has raised serious objections to plans to build a new wind farm - even though the turbines would be nearly 15 miles to the north. Aviation experts say a wind farm next to the defunct nuclear power station, at Bradwell, could raise air traffic control issues and might even interfere with radar. Airport managing director Alistair Welch raised the concerns at a public inquiry which is being held in Maldon.

The proposed Gathercauld windfarm has been reduced in size from 13 turbines to five. Developer EnergieKontor made the announcement at its exhibition about the project at Craigrothie Hall last Thursday. Project manager Mick McLoughlin said the change came after consultation about the impact on the area's landscape, heritage and possible effects on radar at R.A.F. Leuchars.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "The turbines have been removed from the Diss store. Another customer with the same model of turbine, not Tesco, has reported a problem with one of the turbines. "I don't know what the problem was, but as a precaution we've removed all the turbines for health and safety reasons. We'll keep them down until they've found out the cause of the fault." She could not say when the turbines were removed, or when they are expected to be returned.

Defence officials are objecting to a cluster of controversial wind farm applications on an isolated stretch of the Holderness coast amid concerns they could interfere with vital radar systems. A scheme to build seven giant turbines at Monkwith, an 11-turbine scheme a short distance away at Roos, and new proposals for nine turbines at Withernwick fall "in line of sight" to the air defence radar at Staxton Wold. However there are no objections to a smaller three-turbine scheme at Tedder Hill, the third application in the parish of Roos.

Campaigners against a proposed £40 million wind farm behind Greenock believe they have uncovered ‘damning evidence' about the way the issue is being handled by the Scottish Executive. They used the Freedom of Information Act to get an email showing the British Airports Authority (BAA) had no intention of withdrawing its objection to the Corlic Hill wind farm. BAA is worried the giant turbines would interfere with Glasgow Airport's radar and affect aircraft safety.

Plans for a small-scale windfarm on the outskirts of Stonehaven were yesterday thrown out by councillors due to air safety concerns. Councillors from the Kincardine and Mearns area committee agreed in principle with the proposal to build four 256ft wind turbines on agricultural land at Clochnahill, four miles south of Stonehaven, but agreed that public safety was paramount.

A public inquiry in to the future of a controversial wind farm has been dramatically halted. The move follows claims by Prestwick Airport that developer AMEC was warned more than four years ago that their massive wind turbines could compromise air safety in the skies above Ayrshire. Airport chiefs allege that the power company made no attempt to find a solution and ploughed on with their planning application to East Ayrshire Council regardless. Last minute attempts by AMEC to retrieve the situation, including the offer of a new radar system, were knocked back by airport bosses, who insist that it will not solve the problem. The inquiry into the plan to build 85 huge 400ft turbines in the Kyle Forest at Dalmellington has been adjourned until June to allow further time for AMEC to convince the airport that they can build turbines without compromising safety. A spokesman for Prestwick Airport told the inquiry: "It is about the most unsafe place for a wind farm that it would be possible to conceive." The spokesman added: "AMEC's persistence regardless has involved us and the general public in huge expense and time, and we will be seeking recovery of expenses from AMEC." The wind farm application has attracted 4600 letters of objection and has been turned down twice by East Ayrshire Council.

A wind farm plan has been scrapped because of fears about plane crashes. Developer SLP Energy had proposed putting up three turbines on land between Rampside Road and the gas terminal. The company, based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, said the wind farm would produce clean, economic renewable energy and offset the emission of a "significant quantity of pollutants," particularly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere for the next 25 years. But many Rampside residents were furious about the project. The main reasons for people objecting were concerns about noise pollution, the destruction of the landscape and its impact on quality of life.

ONE man's plans to erect a micro wind turbine in the Bathgate Hills has resulted in a dispute that could affect all of West Lothian. Kenneth Robertson, of the Quarter, Drumcross, has seen his proposal for a nine-metre (nearly 30 feet) turbine come up against objections from the British Airport Authority and National Air Traffic Services. They're against the turbine on the grounds that it may interfere with radar equipment from aeroplanes at Edinburgh Airport.

More than 600 people have objected to plans to build a windfarm at Hellrigg near Silloth. NPower applied again in January for a windfarm at Park Head Farm, as it is also known, which was refused two years ago. The four turbines planned would stand 121m high and would cost around £10 million. Eighty-five people attended a meeting arranged by Holme Low parish council on February 26 at the Golf Hotel in Silloth, with all but one declaring themselves against the plans.

An application by Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd to build the turbines was refused by members at Blyth Valley Council's development control panel. Members argued the plan, which proposed two 130m high turbines to be placed in Windmill Industrial Estate, Shotton Lane, Cramlington, would be misread on airport radars as aircraft. Concerns were also raised about the effect on Brizlee Wood air defence radar where, if granted permission, the turbines would have been placed 36km from.

Two drugs companies in Northumberland have failed in their bids to cut energy bills by installing wind turbines - because of safety fears at Newcastle Airport. Aesica Pharmaceuticals and Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) - near-neighbours on the outskirts of Cramlington - both applied for permission to put up two turbines next to their plants to halve their electricity bills and help safeguard jobs.

The future of Robin Hood Airport and Hatfield Colliery could be threatened if controversial plans for a wind farm near Thorne get the go ahead, a public inquiry heard this week. The comments came from the principal officer of minerals and waste at Doncaster Council who also warned that the plans for 22 80-metre high turbines at Tween Bridge could adversely affect the international designated environmental site of Thorne Moor.

A windfarm three miles off Fleetwood will be a major hazard for trawlermen, an industry leader has warned. Environmental concerns have led to the plan for the windfarm being shifted from a spot five miles off Blackpool to just three miles off Fleetwood. Consisting of up to 90 turbines, it would interfere with a traditional fishing ground and could also be a hazard for men trying to navigate in small inshore fishing boats, it was claimed today. Chairman of Fleetwood Fishermen’s Association Steve Welsh said: “One of our main concerns is the safety aspect because if there was a breakdown and someone drifted in there I don’t know what would happen because helicopter access is restricted.

A SCOTTISH airport want to block plans for a windfarm -because the turbines will look like planes on their radar. National Air Traffic Services say the 400ft structures' blades and towers would cause chaos, as they reflect radar signals and make them look like moving planes.

Plans to build a vast wind farm in East Ayrshire have hit a major stumbling block with claims it would cause chaos in Scotland’s skies. The National Air Traffic Services claim engineering giant AMEC’s proposed site in Dalmellington would disrupt hundreds of flights to and from Scotland every week. NATS, which controls air traffic at 15 of the UK’s biggest airports, say the turbines would interfere with their radar equipment.

As the country continues to be battered by tornadoes and gale force winds, one of Norfolk’s biggest wind farms has been taken out of action again after a workman received an electric shock at the site. While 70mph winds swept across the county, the 30-turbine Scroby Sands wind farm, built off Great Yarmouth’s coast, is still paralysed by the power failure. The wind farm’s owners, E.ON UK, said the station was taken off line a few days after the accident to the worker. A spokesman for the company said: “He was working on a part of the cable that was dead and got a flash burn.”

Aircraft could be put in danger by a giant wind turbine set to be built near Sheffield airport, it was claimed today. Worried aviation bosses fear the 270ft high structure, with 90ft blades, could potentially lead to a disaster near Sheffield Parkway. Peel Airports says the turbine, near the approach funnel for the runway, would “constitute a serious obstacle to the safe operation of aircraft”.

Innovative proposals to install wind turbines in Cramlington face growing opposition from Newcastle Airport. Blyth Valley Council is considering a second planning application from Aesica Pharmaceuticals to put up the two turbines at its plant in Shotton Lane. Although councillors are keen to bring renewable energy sources into the borough and uphold its recognition as a Centre of Excellence, they are concerned about the airport’s objections that the turbines could jeopardise safety by effecting radar systems.

Wind farms are on the increase, and this is seen by many as good news for the environment. However, an increasing number of riders are becoming concerned about the effects this could have on their horses. In response, the British Horse Society (BHS) has fired up its wind farm campaign. It’s keen to fly the flag for renewable energy, but wants to make sure horses and riders are not put at risk from the huge turbines.