CAMPAIGNERS seeking to prevent two wind turbines being built on farmland between Belstead and Pinewood have urged Ipswich Borough to put them on a prominent site near the town centre.

And they have produced artists impressions showing the impact of two large turbines on the Suffolk landscape.

David Cobbold, chairman of Belstead Parish Council, said it was vital to stop the turbines at this stage before they were given planning permission.

Two huge turbines were giving serious problems to residents at Kessingland, near Lowestoft, but once they had been put up it was proving almost impossible to get them switched off.

He said: “It is vital that the objections are raised now before it is too late.”

He has signed a letter with Jenny Mills and Peter Evans from the Stop Ipswich Turbines (SIT) group urging the borough to put them near the centre of the town.

Although the land earmarked for the turbines is in the Babergh district, it is owned by the borough council which is working with Partnerships for Renewables to develop wind turbines in the area.

The two major concerns for the parishes are that the turbines would cause noise disturbance for local residents and “flicker” when the light is in certain positions.

Mrs Mills said arguments that the noise from the turbines would not be as bad as that from the A14 did not stand up: “That’s a bit like saying if you’ve got one broken leg, we’ll break the other! The noise would be most noticeable at night.”

The turbines’ impact on the countryside has been captured in photomontages showing how, campaigners claim, the turbines would look from different viewpoints in south west Ipswich.

Alice Gill from Partnerships in Renewables said there was still more work to be done, and no planning application would be made until late in the autumn at the earliest.

The company had been talking to Belstead Parish Council about the issues and home to ease residents’ fears.

n Is Belstead the right place for wind turbines? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail starletters@archant.co.uk