An Environmental campaigner has backed Government plans to make it easier for wind turbines to be put on houses.

Daren Howarth, 43, who successfully applied for the city's first domestic wind turbine, described the announcement to make it more straight-forward to put energy generators on homes as "welcome news."

The Government wants to remove all the hurdles a homeowner must currently negotiate to put up a wind turbine and make it as easy as putting up a satellite dish.

Currently most councils in Sussex require turbines to have full planning permission, requiring lengthy paperwork which costs up to £100.

But that process could be scrapped under new plans announced by planning minister Yvette Cooper, who said laws should be relaxed to reflect the current energy needs of the country.

A major consultation on the proposals would take place this year, she said.

Mrs Cooper said: "It is patently absurd that you should be able to put a satellite dish on your house but have to wrestle with the planning process for small-scale microgeneration."

Mr Howarth who runs C Level, a Brighton-based company which helps companies develop environmentallyfriendly policies, battled the regulations to gain permission for a £1,500 turbine on his home in Islingword Road, Brighton.

He claimed there is "huge support" from people in Sussex for the wind turbines and said that he regularly receives letters from people asking for advice.

Mr Howarth believes the turbine will completely power his house.

He will be paid for any surplus electricity which goes into the national grid.

He said: "Generating enough energy is now the foremost issue all of us face and we have to embrace things like turbines or face the other alternatives such as going nuclear.

"I'm getting letters from lots of people who want to put a turbine up but they are not sure how to do it or what permission they need.

"Anything which makes it easier to do is incredibly welcome."

However the news is likely to be met with opposition from neighbours as many see the devices as eyesores.

One of the most popular models, the Proven WT600, is the height of a telegraph pole while a Windsave-1000 is 6ft tall. English Heritage expressed concern at the Government proposals.

A spokesman said: "Having turbines on the Downs around Sussex is one thing but having them on lots of houses is entirely another.

"This is likely to be controversial and we would urge caution at this stage."

Mr Howarth will also be spearheading The Lizard development at Brighton Marina, an environmentally-friendly village of homes made with used car tyres and empty beer cans, as revealed in The Argus yesterday.

Mr Howarth intends to publish full advice about how to negotiate the current planning process to install a wind turbine on his website clevel.co.uk