Social landlord Incommunities has removed four of its five eco-friendly wind turbines from high-rise blocks in Bradford.

The first was taken down from the roof of the Manchester Road flats in February. That was followed by another three – and now just one remains in place.

The housing group is adamant it is still committed to using alternative energy and says the turbines have been taken down so maintenance can be carried out.

But the turbines are also under review and that process will last for a few more weeks yet.

Incommunities says removing the turbines was not a cost matter.

In September 2005, a lookalike Del Boy from TV hit series Only Fools and Horses joined residents to watch the first turbine switched on.

Each turbine was meant to generate about 3,000 watts of power to light up the communal areas within the blocks and provide external lighting, hopefully to reduce future service charges.

The turbines were seen as part of a £27m improvements package spent on the city’s high-rise flats, including those in Manchester Road. At the time Bradford was believed to be the first city in the UK to install rooftop turbines on residential buildings.

Incommunities then chief executive Ian Simpson said feasibility studies and ongoing wind monitoring had proved it would be a workable scheme but had cautiously added: “They have yet to prove their worth.”

This week an Incommunities spokesman said: “We are currently carrying out maintenance to and reviews of the five wind turbines on top of the high-rise blocks.

“The first of the turbines was removed for maintenance in February 2010 and the review of the turbines will be completed over the next few weeks. At the same time we are carrying out a review into the long-term benefits of the turbines.

“We are committed to using more alternative energy and renewable sources across our developments such as solar panels and ground-source heat pumps.”