That said, there's still rarely room for ambivalence in this regard – people tend to either love 'em or hate 'em.

Open countryside at Stony Houghton, between Mansfield and Bolsover, is the site of the latest battleground between developers and protesters.

The wind farm proponents have not had it all their own way elsewhere so far. But in these times of rapidly dwindling energy resources and soaring prices, the case for more wind power is gaining what seems to be an unstoppable momentum.

The fact remains, however, that these enormous turbines are not suited to every location. And it will be a very bad day indeed if the impact on the landscape, people and animals is no longer the paramount consideration in each and every case.

Many people, and not merely those directly affected, will be watching the outcome of the Stony Houghton application very closely for signs of change blowing in the wind.

The case for wind turbines must never be allowed to become a fait accompli, as happened previously with electricity pylons.