British National Trust opposes wind farms

LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- Britain's National Trust says it will challenge 25 wind farm projects as part of a battle plan to maintain the country's rural environments.

The Trust -- a private, non-profit -- says it is opposing or "keeping a close eye" on 25 wind farms that threaten stately homes and unspoiled landscape around the countryside, Trust Chairman Simon Jenkins said.

Britain is increasingly initiating such projects, and more than 1,200 turbines are set to go into operation around the countryside and along coastal areas in the next year, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The Trust is made aware of new developments threatening precious landscapes "every week" and receives "enraged letters," Jenkins said.

"We don't want to be thought as an automatic nay-sayer but where they infringe on our properties we have an obligation to be concerned," he said.

The Trust is not objecting to a number of offshore wind farms but has a duty to protect landscape and property under threat, he said.

"We think the English landscape needs protecting -- now more than ever," Jenkins said.