CONCERNED residents believe a planning application submitted to West Devon Borough Council could be the first step towards the creation of a wind farm near their homes.

A planning application for a temporary guyed anemometer mast on land between North Tawton and Bow has been submitted by Renewable Energy Systems UK Ltd. The project is at an early stage with a feasibility study being carried out at the site on land to the south of Crooke Burnell.

However, Pamela Coles, who lives at Bow, fears the anemometer is merely the first step towards the building of a number of wind turbines at the site.

?I consider myself quite a green person, but I wish I could be convinced they are a good idea ? I certainly never dreamt I could have one right on my own doorstep,? she said.

Mrs Coles felt it was important people were aware of the possibility that wind turbines could be erected near their homes. ?These are huge things and each one has to have its own grid supply,? she said.

Although the planning application was for an anemometer, which measures wind speed, she had never known of a case in which a wind farm had not followed the erection of this type of mast, she said.

Renewable Energy Systems has been at the forefront of the wind industry since the early 1980s and has developed more than a dozen projects in the UK since 1992.

Anna Stanford, spokesperson for the company, said the application was for an anemometer which would measure whether the wind speed was adequate to make the site feasible for a wind farm.

She said the proposal was at a very early stage and a thorough feasibility study into the site could take up to 12 to 18 months to be completed.

She wanted to reassure people living nearby that if the company did decide to apply for a wind farm, there would be clear opportunities to see what they were planning, and to have their say on the scheme.

?We, as a developer, take a very consultative approach. We strive to make sure we do not have a detrimental impact on local people and consult very widely with the community,? she added.

Mrs Stanford said the company had already had preliminary meetings with North Tawton Town Council and Bow Parish Council, and at the request of the latter, would hold a public meeting to allow local people to find out more about the scheme.

She said there had also been useful discussions with the North Tawton Environmental Development Trust.

In a number of previous cases where wind farms had been established by the company, it had also set up a community fund, managed by local people, she said. These funds could typically distribute around £30,000 each year in funds from the project, to ensure local communities could get a direct benefit from living near a wind farm.

West Devon Borough Council has received 15 letters of objection from residents but these are mainly to the idea of a wind farm being established at the site, rather than to the existing application itself. No objection to the anemometer application has been raised by the parish council.