Plans for a massive wind turbine on the outskirts of Lichfield which would stand almost 50 metres taller than the city’s cathedral have been branded a “joke” by city MP Michael Fabricant.

The tower, measuring 126 metres from its base to the tip of its highest blade, may be built at Curborough Sewage Treatment Works, if Lichfield District Council approves. It would consist of a single steel tower with three carbon fibre blades. There would also be changes to the roads.

Underground cables and a small storage unit would be needed.

Mr Fabricant said: “This has got to be some sort of joke. Lichfield Cathedral is under 79 metres so will be utterly dwarfed by this turbine which will be visible for miles around Lichfield.

“Conservation of the environment ought to be a balance between the need to conserve non-renewable energy sources while not destroying the immediate environment in the process.

“While near neighbours will be disturbed by the noise, Samuel Johnson’s spires of Lichfield’s Cathedral and Churches, as well as more recent constructions like the Armed Forces Memorial, will all be totally overshadowed by this incongruous and ill-placed construction.

“Developments like this will do untold damage. I urge local councillors to oppose this planning application.”

He was supported by Lichfield District Council Curborough ward councillor John Walker who said: “It would be a tragedy if this development was allowed to go ahead and we will fight it as much as we can.

“It’s too dominant and too big for an area which is outstanding in natural beauty and historic heritage. The people don’t want it – and their views must be taken into consideration.”

But Severn Trent Water, the company behind the development, say the proposal is important in the fight to reduce carbon emissions.

It said the turbine would generate enough electricity to power 1,398 homes and provide carbon dioxide reductions of 2,825 tonnes each year.

It added the nearest major conurbation was nearly a mile away while views of the turbine itself would be largely screened by trees.