A CONTROVERSIAL application to erect three huge wind turbines on the edge of Dartmoor National Park near Okehampton was this week thrown out by West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee. Yelland Wind Farm Ltd applied for consent to erect the turbines, a sub-station, an anemometry mast to measure wind speed, access tracks and ancillary equipment on land at Bowerland Road, just south of Okehampton. Steve Salt, for developers West Coast Energy, told Tuesday?s planning meeting the development would make a ?valuable contribution? of 4MW of power towards Devon?s 151MW target over the next ten years. He said the county?s highways department had no objection to the scheme, neither had the county archaeologist, English Nature, English Heritage and even West Devon?s environmental health officer. Mr Salt said: ?I accept there is going to be some adverse impact on the national park, but I do not think these are so adverse that the development should be refused. ?Only two percent of the national park will be affected by the wind farm proposals ? from 98% you are not going to see it. ?Our view is that the benefits of renewable energy and meeting those targets outweigh the impact on the national park.? Cllr Sally Monk, member for Walkham, backed the proposal. She said: ?Wind farms are part of the 21st century and part of the industrial heritage for the next generation. ?In the last century we had TV masts on the moor ? just along from this site we have Meldon quarry ? people do take an interest in the industrial activities around them. ?Wind farms can add to energy production and if something better comes along, they can be removed without any detriment. The countryside isn?t a museum ? it must be allowed to progress and evolve.? But Roy Quirke, chairman of Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Wind Turbines (ODAT), said three huge turbines would dramatically affect tourism in the area, to say nothing of the negative impact they would have on the landscape. ?The high numbers of people voicing their opposition to this indicates the strength of public outrage. Basically, our countryside isn?t renewable ? I urge you to reject this application on every possible grounds,? he said. Ward member Cllr John Hockridge said West Devon?s tourists were ?completely different? to 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 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.?
