Wind turbine total hits 250 for North East

Jan 26 2009 By Dan Warburton, The Journal

Opponents pile up war chest for major inquiry

OPPONENTS of three proposed wind farms in Northumberland are raising funds to fight them.

Bids for turbines at Moorsyde, Toft Hill and Barmoor, all near Berwick, are to be heard at a joint public inquiry beginning in May.

And opposition groups Save our Unspoilt Landscape (SOUL) and Moorsyde Action Group (MAG) are raising funds to fight the proposals at the hearing.

SOUL is opposing the Barmoor proposal, which it claims is facing more than 1,000 letters of objection.

The group has already appointed a barrister and a planning consultant.

It is seeking to raise £100,000 to cover its costs and is currently at the £60,000 mark.

The group is holding three fundraising events, the first of which is an evening of Birdsong with Geoff Sample at The Lady Waterford Hall in Ford on February 6 at 7pm.

MAG has also hired a barrister and a landscape expert. Like SOUL, it is holding fundraising events, including a megasale, and inviting donations.