Concerns over wind turbine transport plans

Controversial plans to transport wind turbine blades and towers through Shropshire and Mid Wales are being tested - sparking anger from many councillors.

A lorry towing huge tower sections up to 150 feet long with a police escort will travel along the A483 in Newtown later today before going through the main streets of Welshpool tomorrow.

Monday saw lorries going past Oswestry and through the villages of Pant and Llanymynech and onto Welshpool, Newtown and Kerry on the A489.

The Welsh Assembly Government said trial runs for the movement of special loads for windfarm construction would be running through Mid Wales and across the border up until Friday.

Last year, a report warned that "significant disruption" could be caused by taking turbines by road.

Welshpool Town Council said the idea of holding trial runs was a waste of time because in reality it would be a lot worse.

Robert Robinson, council clerk, said: "They are running these trials with just one lorry when in reality three will have to travel together. They have already undertaken a trial for the blades and it took them 20 minutes just to get one lorry from one end of Welshpool to the other. I dread to think what it's going to be like when we have more."

The Welsh Assembly Government said delays to other road users would be kept to a minimum but could not give exact times of when the lorries would arrive at each destination.

An assembly government spokesman said: "The trial runs are needed so that windfarm developers can prepare traffic management plans for the movement of windfarm components to sites in Mid Wales."