OPPONENTS of a scheme to build three wind turbines on the edge of Dartmoor say if the proposal wins approval it could set a precedent for a barrage of turbines which would forever alter the moor?s unique landscape. Hotelier Simon Essex, owner of the nearby Ashbury and Manor House Hotels, hosted a meeting on Monday to gather together those alarmed by the planning application submitted to West Devon Borough Council a fortnight ago. The proposal is for three 81-metre high turbines on land at Yelland Farm, south of Okehampton, half-a-mile from the boundary of Dartmoor National Park. Mr Essex said he feared that within ten years, areas of high ground on Dartmoor could be ring-fenced with turbines. ?Once one site gets approved, it is a precedent for development near the moor,? he said. Mr Essex said the initial application was on 2.4 acres at Yelland Farm, with a density of 0.8 acres per turbine. He said 58 acres of land had been leased to the operating company and if this was replicated across the whole area, subsequent applications could result in 72 turbines on the site. At 81m high, the proposed turbines would be almost four times the height of St James Chapel in the centre of Okehampton. Mr Essex said he feared turbines would have a major impact on the growing tourism industry. ?The market place which seeks out Dartmoor and its surrounding area would be repelled and appalled by the visual pollution of wind farms. Wind farms should not be on Dartmoor, neither should they be visible from Dartmoor. ?At the moment, Okehampton markets itself as ?the Town with Moor?, because it sells the moor as being its major attraction, but I fear it could become ?the town with more wind turbines than ever before?,? he said. Mr Essex said the proposed site fell outside the Devon County Plan of areas marked for research into wind-based energy. An action group of those opposed to the scheme was formed at the meeting, and a further public meeting for the people of Okehampton and surrounding area will be held in the Charter Hall on April 20, at 7.30pm. Mr Essex said he believed opponents had just ?one bite of the cherry? to prevent the turbines from being put up and the time for action was now. He urged people concerned by the proposal to come along to the meeting and make their voices heard. Ray Quirke, who runs a holiday let business at nearby Bowerland said the developers were ?playing Russian roulette? with the future of the economy of West Devon. ?The only people who are guaranteed to benefit from this are the farmer and the developer,? he added. He said his own fear was that once this project was approved, other farmers in the area would follow and submit applications for wind turbines on their land. Applicants West Coast Energy will be staging a public information exhibition as part of its consultation process at Sourton Village Hall on Wednesday, April 13, between 2pm and 8pm. A West Coast Energyspokesman said representatives from the firm would be available to provide details of the proposal and discuss planning issues of relevance to the local community. He said the firm had also successfully acted as agent for the recent scheme to build three turbines at Bradworthy in North Devon, and would encourage people to visit that project. ?It is a good chance for people to come along and view a similar project and judge for themselves,? he said. The spokesman said a precedent had already been set by the government?s planning policy statement PP22, which clearly stated that local planning authorities should not create ?buffer zones? around national parks. The spokesman said the company had found no evidence to support the argument that wind farms had a negative impact on tourism. But Jonathan Cardale, the new chief executive of Dartmoor Preservation Association, said the wind farm would be less than three miles from Yes Tor, the second highest summit in southern England. He said: ?If granted, this application will be a dangerous precedent. Within a few years the whole of the northern edge of the moor will be surrounded by legions of these intrusive monsters, the North Devon countryside will be smothered, and the landscape will be horribly altered. These three are just the foot in the door.? Leading campaign group the Open Spaces Society has also joined the debate, slamming the application which they say would blight the view from Yes Tor and many of the ridges on north west Dartmoor.
