l Continued from page 1 those in many other areas of the South West. ?The tourist board has spent a lot of time promoting Okehampton as a walking area ? these people just don?t want to see wind turbines, it will have an adverse effect on our tourist industry. ?These turbines aren?t going to generate employment and they could have adverse effects on two of our very important tourism centres at Manor House and Ashbury. ?We don?t want to lose employment or deter people from coming here.? Cllr Hockridge said the proposed site was the highest in the area and was visible from many miles away. Stephen Gill, West Devon?s planning chief, told the committee the turbines? visual impact on the surrounding landscape was the most important issue in considering the application. He said: ?A lot of focus has been on the views inside the national park, looking out. ?But our view is one receives benefits by looking towards this wild, rugged landscape. Sometimes you get far better views from outside, looking in ? it?s that particular area of the national park that we are so concerned about, because there are so many views into that high moorland area that would be affected by these proposals.? The committee rejected the application by nine votes to one, on grounds of its significant adverse visual impact on the landscape and the national park. Neil Exton, land and development manager for West Coast Energy Ltd, said it was ?too early? to say whether the company would appeal against the decision. ?We will have to consider the reasons for refusal, take stock and consider whether an appeal is appropriate or not. We felt we had a good scheme to start with, which we believed was environmentally acceptable,? he said. Mr Exton said the company?s two previous applications for windfarms within Devon at Higher Darracott and Forestmoor had both gone through the appeal process, acknowledging the company had substantial experience of that process elsewhere too. Mr Exton said Devon still had a long way to go to meet its renewable energy target for 2010, but he believed there were positives the company could take from the meeting: ?In the end it came down to landscape and visual impact, which is largely subjective.?