CAMPAIGNERS were celebrating this week as a controversial plan for the country?s tallest wind turbines in one of West Devon?s most picturesque landscapes was turned down. West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee rejected the application by Renewable Energy Systems UK Limited for nine turbines on land in the Den Brook Valley by seven votes to three. In a packed meeting room at the borough?s offices in Tavistock on Tuesday, committee members debated the proposal for almost two hours, split by the need to address climate change and the impact the ?huge? 120-metre high turbines would have on the landscape. Almost 3,000 letters of objection were received by the planning authority and 71 letters of support. Leading member of the Den Brook Valley Action Group John Shields from North Tawton said he was exceptionally pleased with the outcome. ?An awful lot of work has been put in by a large number of very committed people over some 18 months to fight this application and I am delighted it has been refused,? he said. ?The debate highlighted the importance of the site visit where members could visualise the impact of these turbines.? Independent Cllr John Darch said he was shocked at the site visit at just how much impact the turbines would have. Councillors inspected six different viewpoints surrounding the proposed development. ?Each turbine would be the equivalent of a 30-storey building ? they would tower over an unspoilt area of Devon countryside,? he said. ?The reason for this application is to promote renewable energy but I do not consider wind turbines to be efficient. We live on an island, surrounded by water and we should harness the waves for energy. ?Wind power is unpredictable ? some days there is no wind and other days there is too much and they have to be shut down. The severe impact of this proposal outweighs any advantages.? But Liberal Democrat Cllr Jane Waterhouse said she would be happy to see armies of wind turbines marching over Dartmoor. ?We need to persuade people that wind turbines, in their own right, are beautiful, exploiting the materials from which they are made and contributing to our continued well being. She said objections had been raised by the national park which the site was on the edge of and it had been said that the turbines would be an alien intrusion into the natural landscape. ?This site is not natural; it has evolved from generations of industry just like Dartmoor where man?s intervention has made it the place it is today,? she said. ?And in the end if we do not like them we can take these turbines away again in years to come.? But fellow Liberal Democrat Cllr Ken Williams said Devon?s scenery was it?s greatest asset: ?This landscape is unique in West Devon and we must be careful not to do anything which will counteract this quality.? He also said that the Den Brook Valley was rich in archaeological features. Chairman of the committee Roger Mathew said he found wind turbines ?elegant? and an attraction as he drove through Cornwall: ?I am sad that no developer has yet found a site in West Devon that can be approved for a wind turbine application,? he said. He said the policy the council supported unanimously last March was that it supported renewable energy development provided it was not damaging. ?The issue is one of scale in this case ? these machines are huge and would not be appropriate against this tranquil background.? Rachel Ruffle from Renewable Energy Systems (RES UK) said the company was likely to appeal against the decision because it felt planners had got the balance wrong. ?We believe the people of West Devon would be pleased to see a wind farm working in their area and helping the environment because they are concerned about climate change and fuel shortages. ?An appeal will delay the project and scientists are telling us there is an urgent need to do something ? they were telling us that five years ago. ?It is disappointing that the scale of the turbines seems to be the issue for refusal when we have been consulting with the council for two years without any proper feedback on this.?
