VILLAGERS and countryside campaigners are fighting plans to put four 30-metre high wind turbines on Ramsbury's former Second World War airfield.

Protesters say the turbines would be twice the height of Swindon's new Great Western Hospital and would spoil the skyline of a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

In January FutureWind Ltd will be submitting a formal planning application to Kennet District Council for two wind turbines at Park Farm and two at nearby Darrells Farm, both on the airfield plateau above the village.

Managing director Nick Brown, who recently moved himself and his company from Dorset to Park Farm, said the four 250-kilowat generators will feed enough power into the national grid to run the equivalent of 900 homes.

The ten-year-old generators are secondhand from a wind farm in Cumbria, but Mr Brown said the turbine gearboxes, that can become noisy with long use, will be replaced.

"Essentially these turbines will be silent," he said.

District councillor Brian Twigger said noise is one of the fears the village has over the plan.

Protesters, who are supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, are also concerned about the turbines spoiling the skyline above the village.

Coun Twigger said he was keeping an open mind on the proposal but was aware that villagers had strong feelings.

He said: "They do not want them (the turbines) because it is an area of outstanding natural beauty and anything that shows on the skyline as aggressively as wind turbines is not welcome."

CPRE spokesman John Kirkman said the turbines would be twice as tall as the Great Western Hospital and would be visible over a wide area.

He said: "The official organisation exploring accessible economic renewable-energy resources for the south west as a whole and for Wiltshire in particular, Regen SW, has estimated that the area can achieve its targets for renewable-energy developments without venturing into the North Wessex Downs area of outstanding natural beauty."

"The applicant's supporting literature says his turbines can be installed on low-grade wind sites tucked away in valleys and hollows rather than on hill-top locations, yet his application would put towers on the highest part of the Savernake plateau south of Ramsbury.

"Predictably, they would spoil the view from long distances. Since we can achieve our targets without venturing into the AONB, sites on the Savernake plateau should be the last to be taken for wind-turbine towers, not the first."

Mr Brown said this week that FutureWind eventually intends producing its own new generation wind turbines, including small wind powered generators that can be attached to homes.