LEADING Conservative MP William Hague has backed campaigners opposed to plans for a wind farm, saying it would blight the landscape.

Broadview Energy wants to build five 125m turbines between Seamer and Hilton, near Stockton.

Richmond MP William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, says he is strongly opposed to the planned development, which would straddle two neighbouring local authority boundaries.

He recently met members of the Seamer and Hilton Windfarm Action Group (Shwag), to discuss the plans.

Stockton Borough Council and Hambleton District Council each refused an initial planning application from Broadview last year.

The company re-submitted plans for the wind farm in April.

Mr Hague has written to the district council, stating his opposition to the application.

Campaigners say the site of the proposed wind farm is too close to residential areas, and would have a negative impact on views of the nearby Cleveland hills.

Mr Hague said: “If the wind farm went ahead, it would blight the landscape.

“Although I am not against wind power, I believe that this site is in totally the wrong location, and therefore strongly oppose the application.”

Stockton MP Dari Taylor is also opposing the proposals.

The planned wind farm would generate enough energy for 6,500 homes, according to the developer.

More than 350 letters of objection to the original plans were received, which lead to the formation of Shwag.

The proposals are to be considered by the planning committees of the respective authorities later this year.

A spokesman for the developer said: “We accept not everyone is supportive of the scheme.

“However, all of the concerns raised by Mr Hague in his letter to the council have been addressed in our environmental statement.

“We have been pleased by the levels of local support for the scheme and have received a comment from a local resident, who wrote ‘wind farms are a very important development toward our future energy needs and the net benefits appear to significantly outweigh the drawbacks’.

“The Seamer wind farm, if approved, would produce clean, renewable electricity to displace that from fossilfuelled power stations – another small step along the road to reducing carbon emissions.”

North Yorkshire residents are also opposing wind farm plans at two other sites: at Bullamoor, near Northallerton, and Welbury, near Appleton Wiske.