By Geoff Barnes

CONTROVERSIAL proposals to create a massive wind farm off the North Wales coast will soon be submitted for go-ahead consent.

Watchdog group The Wirral Society firmly oppose the scheme along with West Wirral residents and national campaigners who fear the venture would destroy wildlife and ruin dramatic maritime views and spectacular sunsets.

Society chairman Rod Tann said last night: "We would be happier to accept the intrusions these masts would create if we were more convinced that the power they generated was sufficient to make the exercise worthwhile.

"We are not satisfied that the power they put out is adequate compensation for the loss of environment views. They will be a major blot on the landscape."

In a recent edition of society newsletter Wirral Matters editor Alan Brack said the giant turbines would be so vast they might be visible from outer space. He wrote: "In the video we saw the turbines looked like a gigantic Dalek armada waiting to invade."

Mr Brack commented: "The sheer enormity of the development won't do anything to help the environment. Each one will be higher than the Liver Building."

The Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm - sited nine miles off North Wales and approximately twice as far offshore as the existing wind farm off Hoylake - would produce enough power every year to supply the needs of up to 500,000 homes. Around 120 jobs are expected to be created by the project, most of them in the local area.

West Wirral residents will have the chance to see the plans prepared for submission at a public exhibition at King's Gap Hotel, Hoylake on November 16 from 2pm to 8pm.

Georgia Markwell, project manager for developer Npower Renewables, said: "The company is committed to making sure local people are kept up to date with the progress of our projects. This is why we have decided to hold another series of public exhibitions for Gwynt y Mor, following on from those we hosted locally last autumn."

The wind farm would comprise around 200 wind turbines - each around 160m in height - to harness the energy of the wind. It would produce electricity for 70 to 85% of the time, paying back the energy used in its manufacture in less than a year of operation.

Npower Renewables claim that an independent survey carried out in the summer of 2004 among tourists in Wirral and North Wales revealed that 96% of tourists believed that the North Hoyle offshore wind farm, built in 2003, had had no effect on visitor numbers to the area.

If building consent is given for Gwynt y Mor Npower Renewables plan to start construction in 2008 and have the scheme operational by 2010/2011.