how our "green" Prime Minister helped block plans to site four 250ft wind turbines just a mile from his constituency home...

Tony Blair was accused of hypocrisy and nimbyism yesterday for helping block plans to build a wind farm near his Sedgefield constituency home.
More than 3,100 houses would have been supplied with green electricity if EDF Energy had been allowed to erect four 250ft turbines a mile from Mr Blair's £400,000 house in Trimdon Colliery, County Durham. But when the plans emerged, the Prime Minister -- who frequently boasts of his environmental credentials -- backed the local opposition group.

The Government's policy is to raise its use of environmentally-friendly power from three to ten per cent of the total by 2010. Yet Mr Blair indicated his objections to the scheme in a letter written to protesters by his agent. The letter found its way to Durham City Council and this week its planning committee rejected the proposal, despite a recommendation from officers that it be approved.

Yesterday Mr Blair, who as chairman of the G8 group of countries next year will urge the world to embrace green energy to tackle climate change, was accused of being a hypocrite.
'He is committed to driving up wind power and will not stop till half the country is covered in turbines -- as long as they are not in Sedgefield,' said Martin Callanan, Tory MEP for the North East.
'This is the grossest form of hypocrisy and a classic example of nimbyism.'

Opponents of the wind farm say they were worried about subsidence at the proposed site. 'Our group is not against renewable energy. We are against where this is located,' said leader Margaret Flynn. Mr Blair's agent, John Burton, sent the letter to Mrs Flynn, who made sure a copy was sent to Durham planners. He wrote:
"I agree with many of the points you raise. "While both Tony and I support the development of alternative sources of energy, they need to be situated in the correct place.
"Large turbines shouldn't be sited near housing developments and, in the case of Trimdon Grange, built on land that is liable to subsidence."

The planning committee has 22 members, split equally between the Liberal Democrats and Labour. On Wednesday, five Labour councillors and nine Lib Dems attended the meeting. All five Labour members and five Lib Dems voted against the turbines. The other four Lib Dems were in favour.

A Durham Council spokesman said a copy of the letter had been sent as private correspondence to the authority by the turbine protest group, but it was not entered as an official protest or shown to councillors.
'The councillors voted against the wind farm after an open debate where both sides got the chance to put their view,' he said. 'The councillors asked the planning officers questions on a variety of things then made their minds up.'
However, a council source claimed: "The decision to reject the application was a political one, there were no planning reasons to object to it." And, although Labour councillor Maurice Crathorne said nobody had mentioned Mr Burton's letter, it had been widely publicised in the local paper.

Mr Burton last night rejected suggestions that he and Mr Blair were guilty of 'not in my backyard' politics. 'I explained to Tony that there was a sizeable protest group, the site was 500 yards from homes and has a history of subsidence and he supported me in opposing it,' he said.
An EDF Energy spokesman said the company was disappointed by the committee's decision -- 'particularly as it goes against the strong professional recommendations in support of the project'.