Ill wind divides midlands

Plans to construct more than 2,000 wind turbines in the Midlands have already angered locals and will divide farmers. People are mobilising and getting ready to stand up to the plans, writes Michael Clifford

A low growl underpinned the hum of conversation in the function room of the Bloomfield House Hotel. The room was packed with bodies, awaiting the start of a meeting.

To the right of the stage, there stood a model of a wind turbine hard at work, its blades rotating at a fair clip, like a giant fan. A large screen over the stage was projecting a documentary made in Australia, but through it all, the growl could be heard, as if it was operating at a subterranean level, or maybe burrowing around under the 600 or so chairs taking up the floor.