RESIDENTS are battling a plan to build a huge windmill in their village.

V G Energy has asked Kirklees Council for permission to install a 39 metre turbine at Dry Hill Lane in Denby Dale.

Residents on nearby Commons Lane have formed a pressure group to fight the plan.

Commons People Against Turbines spokesman Tim Maule said: “It would be a real scar on the landscape of a beautiful village.

“The turbine would be five metres taller than the Denby Dale viaduct and significantly higher than the Angel of the North.

“It would be visible for many miles around, from Denby Dale, Upper Denby, Lower Cumberworth and Emley.”

Mr Maule added that the proposed turbine would be close to picturesque land.

He said: “It would be just 135 metres from an area of high landscape value – that is, a particularly beautiful part of the green belt.

“It would also be within a 200m radius of around a dozen properties.”

Mr Maule is heartened by the council’s decision to refuse permission for two 47.5m high windmills at Grange Ash Farm in Grange Moor two months ago.

Planners knocked back the proposal following opposition from residents.

Mr Maule said: “I’m very encouraged by what happened at Grange Moor. It showed that a group of people objecting to something can work.”

Commons People Against Turbines has won the backing of Dewsbury MP Simon Reevell – who also supported the fight against the Grange Moor windmills.

The Conservative said: “The turbine would absolutely dominate the landscape. Someone thinks it’s a good investment and the fact that it will completely ruin where people live will be forgotten.”

Mr Reevell believes turbines should not be built so close to homes.

He said: “Of course there’s a role for wind turbines but they have to be sited in a way that makes people support them.

“The Grange Moor decision showed that Kirklees would take into account visual amenity and that should give hope for opponents of this development.”

Ayrshire-based V G Energy applied for planning permission for the 80-kilowatt turbine on December 23.

A three-week public consultation on the proposal opened on February 1.