VIEWS on a wind farm proposed for a site near Dorchester were aired at a meeting at Kingston Maurward College.

The college hosted a Community Liaison Group, which gave people involved with the plans and the community a chance to discuss the proposals at Slyer’s Lane near Charminster.

Broadview Energy is proposing to erect six 115m turbines on agricultural land and has submitted a planning application to West Dorset District Council.

Tom Cosgrove from Broadview said: “The Community Liaison Group aims to provide a forum for the community to discuss the Slyer’s Lane wind farm proposal with other stakeholders and Broadview Energy.

“The purpose of this particular meeting was to give the community the opportunity to discuss the contents of the planning application, advice given by West Dorset District Council about the issues which will inform its decision on the application, and also how the community benefit fund could be managed and administered if the proposal were to go ahead.”

Mr Cosgrove said he was pleased with how the meeting had gone.

He said: “We were pleased with how well attended the meeting was and hope that those in attendance found the discussion useful.

“In addition to offering the community the opportunity to own a share of the wind farm, Broadview is committed to putting a minimum of £60,000 each year into a community fund if the project goes ahead and it’s important that we allow the community the opportunity to decide how it will be spent.

“The fund will total a minimum of £1.5m over the project’s 25-year life. Recognising the benefits that it will bring, a significant proportion of the local community have shown their support for the application and this is reflected in both Charminster Parish Council and Dorchester Town Council resolving to support the application.”

The No Slyer’s Lanes Turbines group, which opposes the plans said that Stinsford Parish Council had voted overwhelmingly to object to the Broadview application and claims the promised community investment was just a way of ‘swaying opinion’ in favour of the scheme.

The group points out that Puddletown and Piddle Valley parish councils had also raised objections, casting doubts on Broadview’s claims that the scheme had popular support. No Slyer’s Lane Turbines also pointed out that the vote from Charminster Parish Council was in spite of the fact that the majority of villagers who answered its survey voiced objections to the wind farm.

A group spokesman added: “The National Trust, Thomas Hardy Society and Dorchester Civic Society have all voiced strong opposition to the development because of the significant harm it will do to the landscape and the environs of Dorchester.

“Harm that can’t be lessened by a Community Benefit Fund, or a Community Liaison Group, permanent harm for generations to come.”