Up to £3 million will be invested into a community wind power scheme which would see two 74m turbines built near Bridgnorth.

As part of the plans being put forward under the Crida Community Wind Project, it is hoped £1.5 million will be raised through investment from up to 600 people with priority being given to local residents.

The figures were revealed at the first public exhibition of the plans held at Chetton Village Hall.

The project received a mostly warm welcome, although some residents did raise fears about noise and the impact on wildlife.

Officials at Sustainable Bridgnorth and Ludlow-based firm Sharenergy want to build the two turbines on a ridge three miles west of Bridgnorth between Meadowley, Chetton and Underton. It is hoped the turbines would produce the equivalent of 10 per cent of Bridgnorth’s energy output to feed into the National Grid.

The turbines would stand on the skyline for a maximum of 25 years and according to a computer programme could theoretically be seen from parts of Telford and the outskirts of Wolverhampton.

They would be owned by members of the community as part of a co-operative, and each year a £10,000 community fund would be divided between local projects.

It is hoped a planning application will be submitted by October and the turbines could be built by 2014.

Bob Ensum, chairman of Sustainable Bridgnorth, said: “I’m impressed by the open-mindedness of people. This is a chance to get involved in something significant locally to reduce carbon emissions and we hope to establish a strong dialogue with people in the local parishes.”

Jon Halle, of Sharenergy, said people would be able to invest between £250 and £20,000 in the co-operative.

Sue Yardley, of Nordley, said: “The community-owned aspect is very interesting and I don’t think there is a problem from a visual aspect.”

Eileen Reynolds, clerk of Chetton and Morville parish councils, said: “I’m open-minded about it but it will be very interesting to see what happens.”

Su Cadwallader, a 39-year-old mother-of-two from Chetton, said: “We bought our house for the view and quality of life and these turbines would sit right in the middle of that.

“I have concerns about the noise impact and we do have a lot of wildlife here like barn owls, buzzards and hawks. We expect to hear the wildlife at night, not the drone of a wind turbine.”

A second exhibition will be held on Tuesday at Bridgnorth Town Hall from 3.30pm until 8.30pm.

By Peter Kitchen