Wind turbines plan for Samlesbury

3:15pm Tuesday 29th April 2008

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PLANS to build 18 wind turbines at proposed new £8million wildlife reserve could be scrapped if they prove extremely unpopular, it has been revealed.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust is hoping to convert a former quarry near Samlesbury into a 112-hectare site that will attract 250,000 visitors each year.

Part of the initial plans submitted by the charity include creating an environmentally-friendly visitors centre, which would be powered by solar and wind energy.

But project manager Ian Selby said that the charity had not set its plans set in stone.

He said: "What we are proposing are vertical access wind turbines, which don't look like the traditional ones.

"Also they will only be five metres high, which is only the size of a normal house.

"If the turbines are extremely unpopular we will reconsider. I do not have a strong view on them, other than wanting to make the site as energy efficient and self-sufficient as possible."

Several objections to the wind turbine plan have already been received by Lancashire County Council, which will make a decision on a planning application later this year.

The Brockholes Quarry site, which was bought by the charity last year, is located close to junction 31 of the M6.