Storm brews over wind turbines plan
Protesters in Northamptonshire's Nene Valley, where I lived before moving to Budleigh Salterton, were successful in their campaign five years ago to defeat plans for wind turbines which would have dominated the countryside. They were supported by newly elected local MP Louise Bagshawe. There are records of a windmill on Woodbury Common as early as 1549, as David Jannaway pointed out in his fascinating and wonderfully illustrated talk to Otter Valley Association members about the East Devon Pebblebed Heathlands on 11 January. And indeed there are about a dozen surviving windmills dotted around the county, mostly in a state of ruin. David seemed to shudder at the possibility that clusters of the 21st century versions of windmills might somehow find their way into the local landscape. But in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in which Budleigh Salterton lies, it's unlikely that planners would ever permit the intrusion of the gigantic wind turbines which dominate many parts of ...