FEARS are growing that swathes of County Durham countryside will be filled by one of the country’s biggest wind farms.
Energy firm E.on has proposed a scheme with up to 45 turbines near Newton Aycliffe. If it goes ahead, it could be one of the largest onshore farms in England.
This week the company began a public consultation on the plans, which could generate enough electricity to power 53,000 homes a year.
The farm, called The Isles, is planned for a 7.5 square mile site east of Newton Aycliffe.
The company has produced three potential layouts for 25-45 turbines, which replace previous plans to build a smaller farm, the A1 Wind Farm, in the area.
Turbines could be built on both sides of the A1 within just a few miles of rural communities at Chilton, Bradbury, Mordon, Great Stainton, Rushyford, Elstob and Preston-le-Skerne.
E.on has promised a community benefits fund worth up to £460,000 per year to support local projects throughout the lifetime of the wind farm.
Hundreds of people have raised concerns over the plans, which they say would destroy miles of Durham’s countryside.
Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson, who has launched a Parliamentary Petition against the farm, says the North East already has its fair share of turbines.
