THE tranquility and remoteness of areas around Blaina would be damaged by the building of a mountainside wind farm, a landscape expert told a public inquiry yesterday.

Landscape architect Simon White said people visit various relatively unspoilt viewpoints around Mynydd James to "get away from it all" and the wind turbines would have a detrimental impact upon their tranquility.

The public inquiry is taking place after developers Pennant Wind Energy Ventures Ltd and Eco2 Ltd appealed against Blaenau Gwent council's decision to throw out their application to place four 328-foot high turbines on the mountain between Cwmtillery and Blaina in January last year.

Mr White showed the inquiry photographs taken from vantage points, including The Blorenge, Sugarloaf Mountain, near Abergavenny, and Brynithel, which he said would be affected by the development.

Marcus Trinick, representing Pennant Wind Energy Ventures, accused Mr White of not taking the impact of climate change on the landscape, which would be lessened if the wind farm was built, into account in his report.

He said the windfarm would help meet EU renewable energy targets which state 20 per cent of the EU's energy is to come from renewable sources by 2020.

Campaign group Save Coity and Mynydd James, formed of around 100 local residents, and the Countryside Council for Wales are also to present cases against the appeal.

Both say they support policy on renewable energy, but this is small in relation to the harmful impact the turbines would have on the land.

The inquiry, being held at Blaina Evangelical Hall, continues and is expected to last six days.