THE VERY thought, it seems, has put the wind up them in the Ribble Valley...of giant turbine blades turning in the breeze on the skyline of one of Britain's most beautiful spots.

And even at the first breath of the wind farm idea there is a poster and letter campaign begun against it.

For, in addition to electricity, another thing that monster modern-day windmills have the power to generate is controversy.

They are the green giants that can even make many environmentalists say "No thanks!" despite the "clean" energy they provide.

For though they are pollution-free, there is no doubt that wind farms are a visually-intrusive, alien feature on any landscape and, arguably, an even greater one in areas of great natural beauty, as the Ribble Valley is.

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And while many see these huge turbines as dreadful eyesores, others regard them as acceptable and appealing additions to the landscape - so much so, in fact, that the wind farm at Cliviger, near Burnley, has become something of a tourist attraction. However, seminal though this scheme for Longridge Fell may be - with the planning application for the location of measuring equipment there not even discussed yet and the viability of a wind farm on the site far from being known yet - caution, we think, should stalk this project all the way.

That is because the Ribble Valley is most special - so much so that, as was revealed only recently, the Queen herself would love to live there.

Indeed, its splendour and lure at least equal those of any National Park and, in the view of many, the area would warrant just such a designation - particularly because of the stringent planning restrictions which would then apply.

And, we think, it is with that outlook and with the fullest heed of the opinions of both residents and visitors - but not with prejudice - that the Ribble Valley's planning councillors must consider this application. And, above all, what might follow.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.