Plans for wind farm in the Berkeley Vale cause concern

Stroud-based firm Ecotricity is hoping to build eight wind turbines on a plot of land next to the M5 motorway near Stinchcombe.

The firm has put in an application to Stroud District Council, called a Scoping Survey, which asks the council to undertake an environmental impact study at the site.

All residents in Stinchcombe and the surrounding area have been sent a letter by the company setting out the initial proposals.

Marian Shaw, vice-chairman of Stinchcombe Parish Council, said: "We as a parish council have not talked about this proposal yet as it is too soon.

"But as someone who lives in the village I think the proposed turbines are very tall and could distract from this area of outstanding natural beauty. There are also issues over noise.

"There's still lots of information that we need to find out, but at the moment I cannot see why they would want to put the turbines on such low lying land."

Ann Selby, a member of the Stinchcombe Environmental and Climate Change Group, said: "At the moment I am not opposed to the wind turbines in principle, however as I have not seen the full details I don’t yet know what impact it will have on the area.

"I am absolutely convinced we need to find more friendly sources of energy and wind is a part of a mix of better technology, but I would need to see more details before I can be sure what I feel about the development."

Dale Vince, owner of Ecotricity, said: "We built our first windmill in Stroud more than 12 years ago and although it's proven the viability of wind energy since then, it was probably a bit ahead of its time.

"Times have changed though and the need for us to harness wind energy is now well established. We've undertaken an exhaustive study of the whole Stroud district and we think this is the best site in the district.

"If we get the go ahead we could power 25 percent of the homes in the whole district, a huge contribution to local sustainability and to energy independence."