Eyesores and noise wrecking our rural communities

From the roar of aircraft to the drone of giant wind turbines, it is getting harder to find peace and quiet in the countryside.

Now a map reveals just how much our rural communities are being spoilt.

It shows that more than half of England is now disturbed by the sight and sound of nearby roads, towns, electricity pylons, aircraft and trains.

Northumberland remains the most unspoilt county in England, with just 17 per cent of its land ruined by buildings, transport and noise.
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Solar plane flies into the night

A lightweight solar-powered plane has smashed the official world record for the longest-duration unmanned flight.
UK defence firm Qinetiq, which built the Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicle, said it flew for 54 hours during tests.

The researchers believe it is the first time a solar-powered craft has flown under its own power through two nights.

The previous unmanned endurance record was set in 2001 by a jet-powered US Air Force Global Hawk surveillance aircraft which flew for more than 30 hours.

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Village hall to be one of greenest in Britain

A village hall is to become one of the greenest in the country by being powered by three forms of renewable energy technology.

Beechwood Hall, in Cooksbridge, will be virtually carbon neutral, powered by heat and light generated by the sun, along with the wind and geothermal energy.

A solar panel on the south-facing roof will provide hot water and a 45ft wind turbine will run a ground source heat pump, which uses heat from the sun trapped 15ft below ground, to provide underfloor heating in the hall.

The renewable technology will generate 26,000kWh of electricity each year, saving the emission of more than 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Funding for the renewable energy project came from the EDF Energy Green Fund, which provided £20,000, and the Government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which handed over £18,700.

The new village hall was built on the site of an old sports pavilion on land left to the parish in 1944 by the Shrivener family. It has been clad in local chestnut timber and insulated with local sheep wool.

EDF Energy's support was part of a £213,000 new village hall project backed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, waste disposal companies Biffaward and Viridor and the local community.

Peter Mitchell, the chairman of trustees for the village hall project, said: "We wanted to support new renewable forms of energy. It is sending an important message to everybody about where our priorities lie.

"I think the locals will be surprised when they see the hall because their memories are of a gloomy cricket pavilion and it has been completely rebuilt.

"It has been transformed into a building which is light and airy and enjoys beautiful views over the South Downs."

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Fly kites for renewable energy

A new way to harness wind energy may take off now that computers have learned to kite surf.

Experienced kite surfers know that on a calm day they can maximise the power they draw from the breeze by flying their aerofoil-shaped kites through the air in a figure of eight.

"The amount of energy you get from the figure of eight is massive, easily 10 times what you get from just parking the kite downwind," says Allister Furey, a roboticist and avid kite surfer at the University of Sussex in the UK.

Researchers have been trying to use high-flying kites tethered to turbines to generate electricity: when the kites tug on the lines this turns the turbine. While the idea works well when the wind blows consistently, the computers controlling the kites run into trouble when there are gusts of wind or lulls, often leading to crashes.

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