Wind farms top magazine poll as most hated eyesore

Wind farms have topped a poll of readers of Country Life magazine as the most hated eyesores in Britain. The magazine says it surveyed a representative sample of its readers and contributors -- who tend to be people relatively new to life alongside the landed gentry -- to discover which buildings they find most offensive. While wind farms were voted the number one eyesore, number two was Birmingham's New Street Station and third Didcot power station in Oxfordshire. Electricity pylons came fifth. The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) comments that the result comes as no surprise, given the readership of Country Life. The poll is not a fair reflection of the view of the vast majority of the population, it says. More than 50 studies have shown that support for wind energy is on the increase, rising from 80% to as much as 90%, says BWEA.