THIS could be the future landscape across the hills of Hampshire.

The first major wind farm in the Winchester area has started and appears to have won over the critics.

Kirton Farm Nurseries installed the three turbines in the summer after overcoming opposition to get planning permission.

The three turbines on the farm near Crawley, west of Winchester, are 25 metres at their tallest.

Derek Taylor, who runs the farm, said: “We have had a lot of positive feedback. We have only had one resident who thinks it spoils his view. People have been surprised that they weren’t as dominant as they were led to believe.”

Mr Taylor has had interest from other businesses and farmers keen to harvest the wind.

The three blades are now generating all the electricity needed by Kirton Farm that employs more than 20 people and has an annual turnover of nearly a million pounds.

“At the moment they are a little bit under the prediction but we are still putting the excess onto the National Grid,” added Mr Taylor.