Article taken from The Journal 26th June 2008.

Wind farm developers are targeting landowners in a rural North East community with offers of massive financial rewards in return for allowing turbines to be erected on their land.

The Journal has obtained a copy of a letter sent to landowners in and around the village of Capheaton, near Kirkwhelpington, in the Tyne Valley, by an energy firm that tells them of the huge sums of money they could make by agreeing to have the giant turbines on their land.

For each turbine erected, Scottish Power is offering £10,500 every year over 25 years - an income of £2.6m if landowners take 10 turbines.

Last night, campaigners described the situation as a "gold rush", saying the offer was causing the village to be "split down the middle".

The letters were sent out by an agent on behalf of energy firm Scottish Power Renewables, and also includes a map detailing all the potential landowners who are being targeted in the area.

Recipients of the letter are told they could receive £1,000 just for signing an exclusivity contract with the energy firm, and a then thousands more for giving the firm the option to build the turbines.

But the really big money is to be made once the giant structures are eventually put up, when the landowners are told they would be paid £10,500 for each turbine on their land, every year for 25 years.

The target area borders land that is already the subject of an ongoing joint wind farm inquiry, and the timing of the letter has attracted criticism from campaigners.

Carol Brodie is a member of the Campaign for Responsible Energy Development In Tynedale, a pressure group set up by residents concerned about wind turbine development in the area.

She said that the sums of money energy companies were set to make from the developments were creating a gold rush.

It was not clear yesterday whether anyone had taken up the offer.

But Ms Brodie added: "You can't blame the farming community for taking offers like these. They have not had a good deal recently and life has been hard for them.

"It is happening as a result of bad Government policy and it is splitting the community right down the middle.

"The approach of the energy companies has been clumsy to say the least - it is cynical, really. There is a lot of money in it for them and it has become a gold rush.

"There is nobody in this area who isn't concerned about rising fuel prices and looking after the environment.

"But there has to be sensible planning behind it - at the moment the energy firms are just riding roughshod over the whole process."

The Journal spoke to one small landowner, who did not want to be named, who had received one of the letters, but who said he was going to turn down the money.

He said that it had not been a difficult decision because of the effect the turbines would have, being so close to his home.

But William Browne-Swinburne, son of Sir John Browne-Swinburne, owner of Capheaton Estates, said the possibility of having wind farms on their land had not been ruled out.

He said: "None of us like them, but at the end of the day it is about money, and with farming the way it is we have all got to try to make a living.

"Most people have the view that the last thing in the world we want is these big wind mills all over our farms, but we have to survive.

"It is incredibly difficult to make money in farming and we also have the pressure on us to keep a place like this correct. The macro view, as a global citizen, is that maybe it is the right thing to do. But do I want a giant wind mill stuck in my view? No I don't. But we are keeping our options open."

A spokesman for Scottish Power said that the approaches made to landowners marked only the very early stages of a development, and that all factors and criteria would be considered before an application was made.

He added: "There are very demanding targets set by the Government and the EU on renewables and we are committed to meeting them."