I’ve lived in Cumbria for over 30 years but have decided it’s now time to leave this once beautiful county. A factor in this decision is the proliferation of wind turbines.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve no objection to “alternative” energy generation – I have solar panels on my present house and like the idea of solar farms or offshore wind farms – provided the latter are far enough offshore.

I have more difficulty with onshore installations. This is not America where there are miles of badlands where no-one ever goes. These are perfect. However the idea of putting such installations of enormous machines in close proximity to, and in full sight of, an area that is not only a National Park and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but also a World Heritage Site? The sense in that eludes me.

However, the turbines that bother me most are the one-offs where you have one isolated turbine. After considering the manufacturing, transport and erection costs, together with the costs of connecting to the power infrastructure (and subsequent transmission losses) and maintenance costs, the net contribution of these to the overall energy economy must be minor. It is certainly out of proportion to the damage they can do to the visual environment.

There are many of these dotted around Cumbria but the one which particularly depresses me is the one at Drigg. For such a small net contribution, the views westwards from virtually all of Wasdale have been compromised.

Don’t forget, it was Wasdale that was voted Britain’s favourite view and that the readers of The Great Outdoors voted turbines to be Britain’s biggest eyesore.

Dr David Pomfret

By email