GOVERNMENT targets to produce 20% of the nation’s electricity from wind power have been given a cautious welcome by country campaigners – so long as the turbines are sited in the right places.

We urge the Government to place greater emphasis on offshore wind

Andrea Davies - CPRE

This is the somewhat unlikely response from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, which has a long record of outspoken criticism of government planning decisions.

The 20% target was announced by Lord Turner, chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, yesterday when it published its recommendations for future energy generation. It should be achieved by 2020, said the report.

The CPRE accepted this recommendation with some reluctance but insisted that most wind turbines should be sited off shore and those on land should be positioned with great care.

Andrea Davies, senior campaigner for CPRE, demanded: “We urge the Government to place greater emphasis on offshore wind and use the planning system to steer the location of onshore wind in order to avoid damaging impacts on valued landscapes.”

This issue is of major importance in the Yorkshire Dales, where energy companies are eyeing potential sites with envy because of the hilly, windy terrain. Craven District Council last week refused planning permission for five giant turbines on the edge of the Dales national park – but this could still be over-ruled by the Government.