A father-and-son team are leading Bury's green revolution – by building a 98ft-high wind turbine on their farm, according to Bury Times.

It's all systems go for Raymond Taylor and his son, Daryl, after the pair won planning permission from Bury Council last week to install the turbine at Singlehurst Farm in Castle Hill Road.

They hope to have it up and running by the end of the year and will cater for the farm's entire energy needs when the weather is most windy.

When conditions are still, the family will fall back on oil and gas supplies.

The project will cost up to £500,000, but it will allow the farm to slash its existing energy annual bill of £90,000.

The farm, which supplies poultry to supermarkets and has been running for 50 years, uses as much energy in a day as the average Bury house uses in four months.

Daryl, a partner in the farm, said: "When it's very windy, the turbine can power the whole farm. We can sell any extra energy to the National Grid.

"If we get a solid year of windy conditions, it will pay for itself in 12 months. If it's not windy, it could take seven years to break even. We’re in the hands of Mother Nature."

Besides the cash saving, the family is also aware of environmental issues. Daryl added: "Our carbon footprint is something we are becoming aware of and it will become a bigger issue in future for customers.

"I've had lots of neighbouring farmers ringing me up asking me about it. A lot of people will be watching our turbine to see if it proves a success. We are delighted to have secured planning permission and now have our fingers crossed that it will work out for us."

No-one objected to the scheme but, because the farm is on Green Belt, the Taylors had to prove there were special circumstances warranting the turbine, reports Bury Times. At last week's meeting of Bury planning control committee, permission was granted after officers recommended there were special circumstances for the scheme.