CAR giant Toyota is planning to start measuring wind speeds at its Derbyshire factory to see if the site would be suitable for a wind farm.

The company has applied to South Derbyshire District Council to install a 60-metre-tall mast at its Burnaston plant.

The mast would be up for a 12-month period, during which it would record data that would give the car company a better idea about whether wind turbines would be a viable option.

The mast had been in use at Toyota's other UK factory, the engine-making plant at Deeside, North Wales, where the firm was also considering putting in wind turbines, to provide some of the factory's power.

But due to the current economic climate, the firm has put those plans on hold.

In the meantime, Toyota wants to put the mast to use at its Derbyshire factory to gauge wind speeds.

A spokeswoman said: "The aim is to gauge whether the winds are strong enough to one day install turbines.

"We are, however, a long way off that stage. Because of the current economic climate, we are not looking to build any turbines at Deeside or Burnaston in the near future. "But as we had the test mast we felt it would be a good opportunity to collect data."

Toyota said the mast was like a "large stick" and that it would hardly be noticeable at the plant.

Planners at the district council are now considering Toyota's mast application.