I have been struggling to understand our Government’s and local planners’ strange approach to the energy crisis. I live in a village in a conservation area, with a large number of listed buildings.

Neighbours of mine have had real difficulty in getting local planners to agree to new windows (sensitively designed, in keeping with the building) being installed within listed buildings, even though the old windows are rotten and draughty. In one case it took 18 months of hard negotiation to achieve a successful outcome.

Yet currently within five miles of Seend there are plans for 625 acres of solar farms, ranging in size from 20 to 200 acres. These are industrial scale sized developments. The reason for this sudden rush of applications is because the grant funding/ subsidy is coming to an end in April.

The subsidy coming, of course, from the green tax on energy bills. I have written at length to my local MP stating that we are focussing our efforts in the wrong direction and we should be improving insulation and energy efficiency rather than finding new sources of energy, especially wind and solar which are only financially viable because of the said subsidies.

However, it all falls on deaf ears. Maybe one day someone will wake up and realise what we are doing and come to their senses.

Mrs Anne Ewing, Seend.