MORE than 100 residents attended three meetings held by a campaign group fighting proposed plans for a wind farm in Rooksbridge.

NoPilrow felt their update meetings at Mark, Rooksbridge and East Brent were a success, with the majority of residents attending for the full two hours to discuss many issues.

Spokesman for NoPilrow, David Maund said: “Among the issues, those that raised the most interest centred on the visual impact of the turbines on our environment, wildlife and countryside; wind farm subsidies and the belief that the views of the local population were likely to be ignored in deciding whether this project went ahead.”

Almost 50 people also attended public exhibitions held by developer Broadview Energy in village halls in Mark and East Brent.

Residents saw images of how the proposed wind farm could look if constructed and met some of the independent expert consultants involved in the project design process and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Tom Cosgrove, project manager for the proposed site, said: “We hope the exhibitions have given people an idea about how much thought and preparation goes into selecting and designing a suitable wind farm site.

“Through our consultation exercises we have ensured all those who wish to engage with us during the development process have been able to, and the feedback we have received has been extremely helpful.”

Final designs for the site were announced earlier in January and the number of turbines was reduced from the originally proposed six, and their height reduced from 140 metres to 130.

If the project is approved, the firm plans to pay money back into a community for installed capacity – which could be from £20,000 to £30,000 every year and could total between £500,000 and £750,000 over 25 years.

A wind farm at Pilrow would be expected to generate enough electricity to meet the demands of up to 5,300 households in the area.