Power struggle!

And racing commentator Brough Scott and gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh both threw their weight behind campaigns to stop them being built near their homes.

But now Hampshire could soon have its first wind turbine gracing the skyline - providing green power for a visitor centre in the county.

The 12.45-metre-high turbine, proposed for the Itchen Valley Country Park in West End, will be only a fraction of the size of giant structures at wind farms in other parts of the country.

Nevertheless, the Eastleigh Council scheme has already attracted a side-swipe from opponents.

Schemes in places across the country, including the Lake District and Cornwall, have been met with a whirlwind of controversy.

Prince Charles, who has a great interest in environment issues, is reported to have said he would not be associated with the turbines on Royal business and that they should, if they have to, be built at sea.

In 2002, TV celebrities Brough Scott and Alan Titchmarsh also got heavily involved in the fight to stop turbines being put up on a farm in Limerstone Down, on the Isle of Wight,where they both have homes.

A spokesman for Country Guardian - a UK conservation group concerned about the "environmental and social damage" caused by commercial wind farms - said they wouldn't object to this solitary turbine because it is so small.

However, she added: "It's merely an example of green tokenism which does nothing to meet any environmental objectives.

The £22,000 project is expected to attract a £7,000 grant from the government's Clear Skies scheme.

The idea is to provide power for the country park's High Barn Visitor Centre, cut consumption of fossil fuels, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The scheme is also being developed as an educational project for the local community and schools.

A planning application for the turbine will be considered at the end of this month.

If given the green light it could be up and running by October.

Executive councillor for the environment, Louise Bloom, said: "Although I can't pre-empt the planning decision, hopefully it will go through. I am really excited and over the moon."

Besides helping to power the visitor centre, Cllr Bloom said the wind turbine would also pump some energy into the national grid and would allow people to see what it looked like up close.

She added: "This will be a demonstration model but, eventually, we would like to have some more.

Wind power is something the government is keen to put money into and it is a very environmentally-friendly way of generating power.

"I am very pleased and proud that Eastleigh is pioneering something new."

If the project gets the planning allclear, Scottish-based company Proven Engineering Products, which has more than 200 installations across the UK, will supply the turbine.

A council spokesman said the turbine would not be near any homes but might be glimpsed by motorists using a section of Allington Lane.

WIND TURBINES - THE FACTS:

The amount of electricity generated by wind turbines obviously depends on the amount of wind - but at a wind speed of five metres per second, a six kilowatt wind turbine - such as the one proposed at the Itchen Valley Country Park will produce 11,000 kilowatt hours per year.

A normal three-bed house would use 4,500 to 5,000 units per year, excluding heating.

Proven Energy has several turbines in sensitive areas such as National Parks, nature reserves and other protected sites.

The six kilowatt turbine proposed for West End would have a 5.5-metre rotor diameter on a 9-metre tower.

Large commercial wind turbines can have a 45-metre rotor diameter and stand on 40-metre towers.

The turbine blades for the West End project would be made of wood epoxy and painted matt black, the polypropylene turbine head would also be painted black and the galvanised steel tower would be dull grey.

Noise is said to be a "low swishing sound" from the blades, which have shaped tips designed to reduce noise, and there is no gearbox to give any noise.