A countryside charity has called plans for an offshore wind farm “needlessly destructive” over concerns for onshore work plans.

CPRE has criticised plans for the Rampion 2 windfarm expansion saying that the onshore work shows a “lack of respect for the surrounding environment”.

While the charity backs the switch to renewable energy but says that developers “favour convenience of engineering over respect for the environment”.

CPRE Sussex director Paul Steedman said: “We need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible and offshore wind can be a big part of that.

“It is therefore particularly disappointing that the applicant for Rampion 2 has done such a poor job of engaging with local people and appears to favour convenience of engineering over respect for the environment.

“It is with an intense sense of disappointment that we object to these proposals. It would not have been difficult for those behind Rampion 2 to do better on several aspects of the proposal.”

Plans for Rampion 2 include significantly larger wind turbines to those already in place off the Sussex coast. The new wind farm will act as an expansion on the current site.

The plans have been accepted by the planning inspectorate after being submitted in August but are yet to be given the green light.

The expansion will require onshore work which opponents say will rip up large parts of the countryside including the South Downs National Park.

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CPRE particularly cited worries over a lack of information on how the plans will affect the village of Cowfold.

A spokeswoman for Rampion said they have made changes to the onshore cable route following consultation to “best meet the needs of local communities, wildlife and the environment”.

She added: “We have assessed the potential impacts and mitigations of our proposals on an array of issues such as traffic, landscape and wildlife, which are set out in our Environmental Statement.

“The electricity cables will be buried underground, and the Rampion 2 team is committed to reinstating the land back to its former condition as soon as possible after the works, which includes a ten-year monitoring plan to ensure successful reinstatement.”