An MP has joined a chorus of opposition against the UK's largest wind turbines. Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall has spoken against the cluster of four 410ft-high turbines, 100ft taller than Big Ben, and would even dwarf the Fiddlers Ferry Cooling Tower if they were built at Aston Grange. After giving evidence at a public inquiry into the proposals he said: "The developers Tegni Cymru have said that a specific planning policy gives them the right to build the wind farm.

Wyre Council looks likely to reject the controversial proposal by cheese firm Dewlay for a single turbine tower next to its base off the A6 between Garstang and Churchtown at next Wednesday's meeting of its planning committe. Planning officers are urging rejection of the plans, drawn up by Wind Direct of Lancaster, for the award-winning cheesemakers. More than 300 people have written to Wyre Council opposing the planning application. Parish councils, including Kirkland, have also objected.

Plans to build a three-turbine wind farm near an East Yorkshire village have been turned down. The scheme for land at Tedder Hill, close to Roos, near Withernsea, was narrowly rejected by East Riding Council's planning committee today. Committee chairman Councillor Chuck Hunter used his casting vote after the vote went seven for, seven against the controversial scheme.

E.ON UK is to appeal against a local government refusal to grant planning permission for a wind farm at Auchencorth Moss in Scotland, the German-owned utility said on Thursday. Midlothian Council rejected the plan to build a 45-megawatt onshore wind farm neat Penicuik in February, despite the project's potential to contribute towards Britain's already challenging renewable energy targets.

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.

An ill wind may be blowing for the plan for the 127 metre-high wind turbine next to Dewlay's cheese business off the A6 near Garstang. Planning chiefs at Wyre Council are urging councillors to reject the scheme. Details of the recommendation to next week's planning meeting were made public today.

Tra Investments Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lee Strand Co-operative Creamery in Tralee that had begun site works for an eight-turbine wind farm in the Ballincollig Hill-Maghanknockane area, said that it had instructed geotechnical consultancy AGEC Ltd to undertake a study into the cause of the landslide and that it would make the findings public. In a statement, the company said that they had planning for the wind farm and that "initial site works have taken place over the past two weeks".

Parliament approved the construction of Denmark's largest offshore wind turbine park on Tuesday. The wind farm will be placed in the Kattegat strait of the North Sea between Jutland and the island of Anholt by 2012. The turbines will be capable of producing 400 megawatts of energy ...Denmark has 5267 turbines, of which nearly 70 percent are located on Jutland.

Communities in North Cornwall are battling to stop the county's biggest wind farm from dominating the skyline over Bodmin Moor. Emergency meetings have been called by Camelford Town Council and parish councillors following a similar move last week by Davidstow parish council which saw 200 angry residents pack Otterham village hall. That meeting was attended by people from a number of moorland villages who are opposed to a plan by energy company Community Windpower to site 20 turbines near Crowdy Reservoir.

The chief executive of the Shannon Region Fisheries Board said yesterday there were no fish remaining in the spawning grounds affected by the landslide in the Stacks Mountains in north Kerry last weekend. ...However, the full effects of the landslide on the Smearlagh and Feale rivers may not be felt for five to 10 years, because of the migratory pattern of the life-cycle of the fish. ...Residents have called for a change in the county council development plan which has designated the Stacks area for wind farm development.

A company which began work on a wind farm on a mountain bog in north Kerry two weeks ago tonight said an independent investigation was being launched into the cause of a massive landslide which killed thousands of wild salmon and trout. Tra Investments Limited in Tralee said geological experts would assess what led to a two kilometre long slick flowing off the Stacks Mountains polluting the most important water supplies. ...Eamon Cusack, chief executive of Shannon Regional Fisheries Board, said: "All I can say is that we're following every lead and we're obviously looking at the windfarm as a possible source of the start of the landslide."

Hi-tech maps showing the country's landslide 'hot zones' were given the go-ahead just weeks before a 3km landslide cut off an entire community and led to fears of an "ecological disaster". ...The landslide, which has been put down to the record rainfall levels this month, occurred during construction work on a roadway to an electricity wind farm in the Magha/Kielduff area of Kerry, with its power sweeping away a bridge and imprisoning people in their homes.

Opponents of plans for a 127 metre-high wind turbine next to Dewlay's cheese business off the A6 near Garstang will find out on Wednesday (Aug 27) if planning bosses are urging approval or refusal of the scheme. Details of the recommendation will be made public on Wednesday when the agenda for the September 3 meeting is published. As reported in last week's Courier more than 300 people have objected to the plans.

Up to 5,000 people in North Kerry have limited water supplies today following a landslide of elevated blanket bog in the Stacks Mountains at the weekend which polluted water courses. The landslide reached over two kilometres in length and up to 55m wide place with mud seeping into north Kerry's most important water sources and the rivers Smearlagh and Feale. ...The Stacks area has been designated for wind farm development and locals had claimed there was a risk of landslides in objections to a wind farm which is under construction.

For Enterprise Minister Jim Mather and the Scottish Government, events of the past week have left a big hole in plans to turn the country into a global leader in the renewable energy industry. On Friday Mather flew to Kintyre hoping to rescue Scotland's only wind tower factory near Campbeltown following a decision by Danish firm Vestas to halt production at the plant. ...Mather's trip to Campbeltown came on the day he was forced to react to a Westminster decision to shelve a planned subsidy for renewable energy schemes in Orkney and Shetland. The UK Government is no longer willing to cap transmission charges, a move Mather described as "deeply, deeply disappointing". Jason Ormiston, chief executive of trade body Scottish Renewables, warned that transmission charges can be a major component in the cost of running a wind farm and could affect the viability of projects.

Kerry County Council says this month's record rainfall is at least partly to blame for the slide, which occurred during construction work on a roadway to an electricity wind farm. Large volumes of peat have so far travelled over 3km, sweeping away a bridge and preventing some residents from accessing their homes.

A wind farm given the green-light in Essex will have to go before the Planning Inspectorate again after the original permission was quashed. Maldon District Council had conceded defeat last October in its battle against plans for 10 turbines at Hockley Farm, Bradwell. But it has now emerged the scheme will have to be re-assessed by the Planning Inspectorate after drafting errors were made in two of the planning conditions. It is the latest twist in the saga of the wind farm, which was originally rejected by council planners before getting the go-ahead last year following a public inquiry.

Hunslet Hawks Rugby League Club say they are "finished" as the aerodynamics created by the giant structure will cause problems with training and matches. Leeds City Athletics Club, which also trains there, say the noise will put off athletes and that the extra wind would hamper throwing events. But athletes have no choice but to stay there as it's "the best outdoor track in the city". Both clubs say they were not consulted and arrived at training on Thursday night to find the turbine just metres from the pitch.

The chairman and chief executive of Australian investment group Babcock & Brown, which holds a 23% stake in Forth Ports, both quit yesterday amid the group's continuing financial troubles. Long-serving chief executive Phil Green and chairman James Babcock, who founded the company in 1977, have stepped aside from their roles at the troubled asset management and advisory company.

A wind farm developer has won an appeal to build a 60-metre test mast between two villages. Earlier this year, Stockton Council's planning committee turned down Broadview Energy's proposal to erect a monitoring mast on farmland between Hilton and Seamer. However, this week Government planning inspector Anthony Wilson overturned the council's decision. He commented on the "attractive appearance" of the area, but said he did not consider the mast would cause "any undue harm to the site and its immediate surroundings, especially when compared with the size, scale and appearance of the electricity pylons nearby".