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# County councillor welcomes Government review of wind farm policy
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/county-councillor-welcomes-government-review-of-wind-farm-policy/
- Published: 2012-11-02T11:30:05.000Z
- Updated: 2012-11-02T08:28:41.000Z
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 21:41, News

A Government review of wind farms has been welcomed by Staffordshire County Council’s environment chief.

New Energy Minister John Hayes said that “enough is enough” and that the country can “no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities”.

A new analysis of the case for onshore wind power has now been launched.

The move has pleased Cllr Mark Winnington after an agreement by the county council that wind farms should not be located in areas where they could damage the landscape or economy.

“While we understand the need for renewable energy, I think that many people will agree that enough is enough,” he said. “I am pleased that the Government have now come out and agreed that this is the case.

“Staffordshire is a predominantly rural county and has some outstanding landscapes which should not be compromised by large scale wind energy developments.

“Similarly we do not want to see them anywhere where they could have a detrimental impact on the local economy, particularly our ever expanding tourism industry.”

The county council’s position on wind turbine applications also recommends large scale wind energy developments should be a minimum of 2km from residential areas.

Local MP Christopher Pincher [yesterday lent his support to campaigners](//lichfieldlive.co.uk/2012/11/01/mp-backs-bid-to-stop-wind-turbine-being-built-close-to-historic-site-near-lichfield/) battling to stop a turbine being built near the historic Roman site at Wall.

However, his comments drew criticism from Mike Kinghan of the [Whittington and Fisherwick Environment Group](http://www.wfeg.org.uk/?ref=lichfieldlive.co.uk), who described the MP’s comments as “nonsense on stilts”.

“His emotive language about hard working families ignores the fact that – according to OFGEM – the additional cost of subsidies for onshore wind on the average energy bill is less than £5 per year, while rising gas prices and energy company profits have sent bills soaring,” said Mr Kinghan.

“It also ignores the fact that the costs of dealing with the consequences of climate change are going to vastly outweigh the costs of the short-term investment needed to switch to clean energy.”