Local councils along the Dutch coast are warning the government that building off-shore wind farms will result in lost jobs and lower council income.

In a letter to economic affairs minister Henk Kamp and infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen, the councils of Zandvoort, Noordwijk, Katwijk and Wassenaar say that building wind farms off-shore but within sight of the coast will depress tourism, losing €200m each year for council coffers. In addition, 6,000 jobs will be lost.

The government is currently awaiting reports on the building of wind farms six kilometres away from the shore. It says this would be cheaper than placing them further out to sea. The coastal councils dispute this, saying the savings in construction costs would not outweigh the loss of income from having them within view.