THE developer behind plans to erect three wind turbines near Olveston has announced its intention to scale down the project.

REG Windpower has unveiled major changes to its original scheme including building two turbines instead of three and moving the masts further away from villagers’ homes.

Following its last round of public consultation in September, the firm said it had taken on board residents' comments and suggestions and adapt its plans accordingly.

Sophie Hartfield, project developer at REG Windpower, said: "We have received a lot of correspondence which has included messages of support and questions being posed.

"One of the comments we heard most regularly during the consultation was a concern about how close the turbines were to houses.

"We have remodelled the site with the aim to increase distances from as many farms and homes as possible. The new proposals would still represent an opportunity to harness clean, green, domestically produced energy for over 2,300 homes."

The increased distance has not yet been confirmed.

The turbines could also now reach up to 130 metres, four metres higher than initially agreed on.

But the news was far from welcomed by activists or the parish councils which backed their campaign.

Olveston Wind Farm Action Group (OWAG) has been fighting the scheme since it was first put forward.

Chairman Claire Barnard said: "REG is proposing even bigger wind turbines than before. We believe these wind turbines are still too big and too close to people’s homes. We continue to believe that industrial development in the green belt remains inappropriate. "We would like to know from REG Windpower the location for these two turbines. This information hasn’t been made public yet."

Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council chairman Ian Roberts told the Gazette the scaled-down plans changed nothing as far as he was concerned. The authority opposes a wind farm, not on the grounds of visual impact, but because if construction were to go ahead Northwick village would end up right at the centre of REG Windpower’s transport route, causing huge disruption.

Cllr Roberts said: "It doesn’t change anything at all. It’s still the access and the way they want go in that we are not happy about. The lorries will go through little lanes like Bilsham Lane. It’s a farm lane and they want to build a new road there."

REG Windpower previously said it would resurface the worn single track road before construction.

To read the new proposal visit www.m48windfarm.co.uk