THE ECONOMIC as well as the environmental benefits of wind energy were championed as South West MEP Molly Scott Cato paid a visit to Charminster.

The Green Party MEP visited High Burton Farm and the site of the proposed Slyer's Lane wind farm.

Broadview Energy has lodged an application with West Dorset District Council to erect six turbines at the site.

Dr Scott Cato visited the area to speak with local campaigners who supported the proposed wind farm as well as the farmers at Higher Burton Farm.

After discussing the issues surrounding Slyer's Lane she hailed wind farms as 'the industry of the future'.

Dr Scott Cato said: "I'm strongly in favour of it because we have a huge economic opportunity both in the production of energy from wind but also in the production of wind turbines.

"This is the industry of the future and we need politicians to be supporting it wholeheartedly.

"It's partly about climate change but it's also about economic resources.

"Right across the South West we have got potential we are not using."

While there has been support for the Slyer's Lane proposals from West Dorset Pro Wind and the Slyer's Lane Clean Energy Group, there has been opposition from the No Slyer's Lane Turbines group.

Dr Scott Cato said there will always be opposition locally to such schemes but said that nationally the vast majority of people were in favour of wind farms and renewable energy in general.

She said: "People who oppose wind farms are very noisy but surveys show three quarters of people in the country at least think we should have more renewables."

Dr Scott Cato was joined at the site by the Green Party's West Dorset parliamentary candidate Peter Barton.

He said that it was important Dorset did its bit to provide sources of renewable energy.

Mr Barton said: "As the local Green Party we are very much behind onshore wind.

"Dorset lies behind its South West county neighbours in renewable energy.

"The county has made an aspirational commitment of 15 per cent of requirements being met by renewables by 2020 and we are nowhere near that."

He added that the strength of support locally for the Slyer's Lane proposals was demonstrated when the West Dorset Pro Wind group managing to gather over 1,000 letters of support to submit to West Dorset District Council as part of the planning process.

Mr Barton said he understood the planning application would not go before the council until after the May general election, something he welcomed as he said he hoped that would see the decision made based on its merits rather than any political influence.