THE debate on energy in the Commons this week, inspired by East Lancashire MPs Gordon Prentice, of Pendle, and the Ribble Valley's Nigel Evans, puts into sharp focus the controversy over plans to set up more wind farms on Lancashire's moorland hilltops.

For while many may share Mr Evans' subjective view that the giant turbines are unbelievably ugly, their undeniable bonus is that the more there is of them, then the need for using "dirty" fuels as an energy source becomes less.

And that point is, we think, rammed home by the fact that Mr Prentice will be using the energy debate to express concerns about the burning of controversial chemicals-based Cemfuel at Clitheroe's Castle cement in Mr Evans' constituency.

That we think suggests that, even if one accepts Mr Evans' opinion about windmills being eyesores - and not everyone does - the calls to restrict them must be weighed not solely by their visual intrusion on particular landscapes, but must be balanced by the environmental and health gains they bring, particularly in the reduction of atmospheric pollution.

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