ANOTHER conservation body has come out against proposed wind farms in the Winterborne Valley.

The Council for the Protection of Rural England has added its voice to that of DART (Dorset Against Rural Turbines) which formed in the face of proposals for giant wind turbines at Winterborne Zelston and at Muston Down near Winterborne Kingston.

The CPRE cites all the same reasons - the destruction and domination of the landscape by the turbines, noise pollution and the fact that they will not lessen the need for fossil fuel power stations because of their unreliability.

But Terry Stewart, chairman of Dorset CPRE, has come up with two further reasons as to why they should be opposed.

"Because they are so vast, the developers will have to lay permanent roads to each turbine to allow access for enormous vehicles and vast sections of mast," he said.

"The turbines will not only be a danger to low flying aircraft, but also to migrating birds."

But Charles Sandham, director of Your Energy which has filed for permission for the Zelston site, disputed the claims.

He said 70 per cent of the access would be via farmtracks already in existence and the new ones would only be tracks, not roads.

Although they might be up to five metres wide during the construction phase, the width would be reduced further once the masts were in place.

Your Energy had consulted military and civil aviation authorities, Bournemouth International Airport, English Nature and bird charity RSPB, none of whom had objected to the application, Mr Sandham added.