WATER company officials will present plans for giant 400ft high wind turbines at the Chelker Reservoir to Ilkley councillors next week.

Yorkshire Water, which also owns the reservoir close to Addingham, wants to replace the four wind turbines at the reservoir with two much larger turbines.

The site stands within North Yorkshire, so Bradford councillors and members of Ilkley and Addingham parish councils do not need to be officially consulted as part of the planning process.

The company has now contacted Ilkley Parish Council, telling councillors it is submitting a plan for the two larger turbines. Two Yorkshire Water managers are due to attend the council's Plans Committee meeting on Monday June 2, to talk about the company's plans.

The chairman of Ilkley Parish Council's Plans Committee, Councillor Kate Brown, said the move by Yorkshire Water was a courtesy, as the company did not formally have to consult the parish council.

She said: "They wrote to us to say they propose putting two very tall turbines in place of the four that are there, because they feel that would be more efficient, and the other ones are coming to the end of their expected life."

The committee previously expressed concern about plans for large wind turbines at Knabs Ridge, almost ten miles away near Kettlesing in North Yorkshire. Councillors were concerned that the turbines would affect the views from Ilkley.

Coun Brown said Yorkshire Water had also informed the council that it is planning to hold a public consultation, including a display with a drop-in session in June.

The plans committee meeting will take place in the Council Chamber at Ilkley Town Hall, starting at 7pm, and members of the public can attend.

Craven District Council, based in Skipton, confirmed that it was expecting a planning application shortly, and had already started receiving comments .

The existing wind farm on a prominent hill, to the north of the Chelker Reservoir, became operational in 1992, providing power to pump water into the reservoir. It is believed that the two larger turbines would power pumping at the Chelker reservoir and another reservoir.