WE are concerned that residents quoted in your article “Blowing hot and cold over wind farms” (Thursday, October 25) appear to believe the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Farm is being promoted by, or has the backing of, Bournemouth Council.

Neither assumption could be further from the truth.

Whilst the Council fully acknowledges the need for more sustainable energy, we completely agree with the sentiments of David Lloyd from Challenge Navitus. This is the wrong place for a wind farm.

As a statutory consultee, the Council is obliged by the government to work with Eneco, but despite our best efforts they have failed to provide the information that we need to give an informed response to their proposals.

They have still not even provided some basic information, such as the height and number of the wind turbines or an accurate photomontage of what the wind farm will look like from the clifftop on a clear day.

They are treating the local community with contempt if they believe that we do not need to see these fundamental details before judging the impact of their proposals.

We have put pressure on Eneco to locate the wind farm out of sight of the coast because, not only will its visibility impact on the enjoyment of the natural environment by local residents, but we also have robust data that clearly indicates a negative impact on tourism should a wind farm be visible from the resort.

That in short, potentially means less income and less jobs in Bournemouth’s tourism industry. Indeed, Eneco were extremely careful to site their other offshore wind farm, off the coast of Holland where they are based, out of sight of the coast so as not to impact on Dutch residents and tourists. It is not unreasonable to expect the same approach here.

From the very start we have insisted that the quality and amount of information in the public domain should be vastly improved, so that people can see for themselves the visual impact that the wind farm would have from Bournemouth’s beaches and clifftops. If Eneco will not do it, residents will continue to wonder what they have to hide.

I can assure Bournemouth residents that the Council will continue to do everything possible to robustly represent their views to Eneco. Any resident who wishes to express an opinion is requested to contact their local Councillor.

Their details can be found on the Council’s website bournemouth.gov.uk, so that the Council and Bournemouth’s MPs can continue to make representations to Eneco on their behalf.

CLLR JOHN BEESLEY, Leader of Bournemouth Borough Council