Eight turbines could be built at Lamonby

Residents in Lamonby, near Penrith, reacted with anger when councillors agreed to the installation of a 50-metre weather mast.

Eden district councillors decided on Thursday to allow United Utilities to erect the mast as the first-phase of a plan which could see eight wind turbines built.

The company wants to test wind speeds over a two-year period and says it is conforming with government targets to have more energy produced from renewable sources.

But Ruth Walsh, of Communities Opposed to Lamonby Wind Farms, said: "We are really disappointed.

"We feel that Eden District Council are now sending out a message that the whole area is available for wind turbine development.

"They could have been brave, they could have said no to wind turbines."

She warned councillors that the fight against the planned turbines would intensify.

A spokesman for United Utilities said: "This is only the first step in a long process.

"We will have to look closely at whether the site is useful.

"The government has set a target for 10% of all power generation to be from renewable sources, like wind turbines, by 2010."

David MacLean, MP for Penrith and the Border, has condemned the proposals.

He said a wind farm in Lamonby would "split the community in half".

Eden District Council received more than 100 letters objecting to the turbine plans.

But a spokesman said the council felt it had made the right decision in allowing the test mast to be built.