VILLAGERS have spoken out against plans to build 13 wind turbines as high as St Paul's Cathedral on a nearby farm. West Wratting residents attending a public exhibition by developer Renewable Energy Systems (RES) were concerned that anyone living near Wad

VILLAGERS have spoken out against plans to build 13 wind turbines as high as St Paul's Cathedral on a nearby farm.West Wratting residents attending a public exhibition by developer Renewable Energy Systems (RES) were concerned that anyone living near Wadlow Farm would be affected by the size of the turbines and the noise.They would have preferred the wind farm to be developed offshore or well away from urban areas and could not understand why RES was considering the Wadlow site when turbines could be built just off the Lincolnshire coast in The Wash.Jacqui Burke, of Six Mile Bottom Road, West Wratting was one of the villagers who went to Tuesday's exhibition in the parish hall.She said: "The idea of wind farms is great but I feel this is a very inappropriate location for it." Her biggest concern was that the plans would result in the industrialisation of a rural area."It is a very undisturbed natural rural environment. There are obvious opportunities to put wind farms offshore where they would not affect the natural environment."Lesley Woodward, who lives in West Wratting High Street, agreed with this sentiment and said she was attending the exhibition to find out more about noise levels associated with the turbines."The environmental reasons are good but I just think it is a rather attractive part of Cambridgeshire," she said."It is just that they don't look very attractive. The view will be spoiled, but in theory I think it is a good idea."But Balsham resident Terry O'Neill was sceptical about the idea of wind power on the grounds that it would not have much benefit because the amount of electricity generated is small compared to other energy sources.His answer to Britain's energy problems was for the government to encourage people to be more energy efficient, although he admitted it would be difficult to persuade people to change their lifestyles.But Simon Peltenburg, of RES, said installing the wind farms offshore would cost a lot more and would have an even greater effect on the scenery because there would be nothing else in sight.In any case, he felt there were already many buildings in the countryside which had a far bigger impact than the wind turbines would.RES will be submitting a planning application for the turbines to South Cambridgeshire District Council next month.If approved, the farm would provide power for 16,700 homes with each turbine producing 2.3 megawatts of electricity, and the equivalent carbon dioxide savings are expected to be 67,000 tonnes per year.