Communities secretary Eric Pickles' decision to extend by a further 12 months ‘temporary' powers to pull in wind farm applications was made ‘to play politics with energy policy' - a key figure for the renewables industry has claimed.

The comments follow a written ministerial statement last week, in which Mr Pickles pledged to pay heed to ‘the continuing concerns in communities when a local decision is challenged on appeal'.

He stated prior to instituting a temporary change to the appeals recovery criteria in October 2013, more appeals for significant wind turbines were given the green light than rejected.