LOCAL authorities in Merseyside should do more to combat climate change by agreeing to build wind farms in their area, the former deputy prime minister said at the start of a three-day conference in the city.

John Prescott MP condemned those who objected to wind turbines because they feared it would “spoil their view”, and said they should think of future generations instead.

Mr Prescott was speaking yesterday at the wind industry’s 31st annual conference, held at the BT Convention Centre.

Referring to Merseyside, he said: “Some areas have more wind than others. Wind is a new resource now, and these are the areas where most of the resources are.

“We should be saying to local authorities, they have an obligation to provide a place for wind farms. If they say, ‘we don’t want to do it here’, that’s unacceptable.

“Wind is an important resource and we can’t afford to let it go just because a few think it spoils their view.”

Mr Prescott also condemned local authorities for slowing down the planning process for wind farm applications.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) revealed figures at the conference which showed that council approvals of wind farm applications nationally had slumped to a record new low of 25% so far this year.

This compares to a figure of 63% in 2007.