Village wind farm plans approved

Plans to construct a 10-turbine wind farm near a County Durham village have been approved.

The 100m-tall (329ft) turbines will be built at Butterwick Moor, north of the A689 at Sedgefield, by E.ON UK.

Local members of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) oppose the development, claiming it will look "out of place" in the area.

But Sedgefield Council, which approved the plans, said the region would suffer no harmful effects.

Elizabeth Mann from the CPRE, said: "They are skyscrapers, about 350ft high, with huge blades like a jumbo jet.

"How can anything not look out of place at that height?

"And with the blades spinning round they're going to make a lot of noise too."

'Green energy'

Charlie Watson, head of planning at Sedgefield Council, said: "We considered the application very carefully over a number of months and the conclusion we came to was that there would be no harmful effects.

"They are a very clean and green source of energy and a feature that's accepted by most people in countryside now."

The turbines will generate enough energy to power 10,000 homes, according to E.ON UK.

Permission for another development, the nearby Walkway Wind Farm, has already been granted.