THE end of wind farm subsidies has been a 'David and Goliath battle' which has ended in victory for the 'little people', one action group this week claimed.

New onshore wind farms will be excluded from a subsidy scheme from April 2016, a year earlier than expected. The move is part of a manifesto commitment by the Conservative party ahead of the General Election in May — a move which has been welcomed by local action groups.

Chris Burchell, chair of LASTAG (Lamerton Against Solar and Turbines Action Group), welcomed the news to end wind farm subsidies.

He said: 'This is wonderful news and just what we voted for in the latest Parliamentary elections. It truly has been a David and Goliath battle — and the little people have spoken through the ballot box.'

The Department for Energy and Climate Change said that there would be a grace period for projects which already have planning permission.

Under the plans, which will be introduced in the Energy Bill, wind turbines will only get the go-ahead if provision for them has been clearly allocated in areas by local people through the Local or a Neighbourhood Plan. The developer will have to demonstrate that the proposal has community backing.

Dr Gary Vanstone, chair of MABRAKE, the Milton Abbot, Bradstone and Kelly action group, said: 'We are pleased in principle that the Government appears to be honouring its pledge to eliminate subsidies for onshore turbines and also allow local communities the final decision on their construction.'

But he added that a number of questions still remained, including whether it only applied to turbines over a certain size and if this applied to all onshore turbines, individual turbines and wind farms.

'There are a number of critical applications that are going through West Devon Borough Council planning process — turbines proposed for Wrey's Barton, Ridgecombe Farm, Cardwell Farm, Tredown Farm and Beckwell Farm — it is unclear whether any of these new rules will apply to these applications', said Mr Vanstone.

Reacting to the Government's decisions to end new subsidies for onshore wind farms and changing planning rules, Friends of the Earth's renewable energy campaigner Alasdair Cameron said: 'While the Government rolls out the red carpet for fracking, they're pulling the rug from under onshore wind.

'Proposed changes to the planning system could make it more difficult for local authorities to give the go-ahead to new wind installations — even if it's the local community who want to build and run them.

'Basically you get fracking whether you like it or not — but if you want wind, you may miss out.'

Jon Snowden, chair of LLVAG, (Lifton and Lyd Valley Action Group), said all welcomed the news.

'We are an active group of concerned residents formed in 2014 to raise awareness about inappropriate develop-ment.

'We are not anti-renewable energy, but do strongly oppose the ad-hoc and opportunist development of single wind turbines ruining the West Devon landscape, countryside and community. There is nothing "green" in their motives.

'It is interesting and powerful to say a member of our committee recently declared that, from her window, looking west towards Launceston and Bodmin Moor, she could see over 40 single turbines. The application of the planning process appears to be very lax in Cornwall — it is clear from our campaigning that the residents of West Devon do not want the proliferation of turbines to sweep across the Tamar.

West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox expressed his satisfaction that the Government had honoured its election pledge to end financial subsidy to onshore wind turbines.

Mr Cox, who has long campaigned to end the proliferation of turbines in West Devon, was one of the 100 Conservative MPs who wrote to the Prime Minister in 2013 urging him to end wind turbine subsidy.

'This announcement will produce an enormous sigh of relief throughout West Devon and Torridge,' said Mr Cox.

'We already have too many of these machines littering the countryside, but with this change and the new planning arrangements, I hope and believe that we have finally won the battle to stop them.

'I shall continue to watch the Energy Bill closely as it passes through parliament.'