A PUBLIC inquiry into whether a wind farm should be sited near Okehampton began on Tuesday with the pressure to reach the county?s renewable energy targets finely balanced against the impact the 81-metre high structures would have on the landscape. An appeal was lodged by Yelland Wind Farm Ltd following West Devon Borough Council?s refusal of planning permission for three turbines on land near the northern tip of Dartmoor. At Okehampton?s Charter Hall, planning inspector Keith Smith heard opening speeches from solicitors for Yelland Wind Farm Ltd, the borough council, opposition groups, including Dartmoor Preservation Association, the Council for the Protection of Rural England and local businesses, and action group ODAT (Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Turbines). The inquiry, which is expected to last six days, will hear representations from local councils, Dartmoor National Park Authority, other interested parties and members of the public. Among the witnesses called will be Simon Essex, owner of the Manor House Hotel, who claims the turbines would be detrimental to his tourism business which has an £11-million a year turnover. Mr Smith said there had been some 1,496 letters of objection to the proposal and six in favour. He will be holding a special evening session at the Charter Hall tonight (Thursday) at 7pm where members of the public will have the opportunity to give their views. The inspector said there were two main issues to the case ? local planning policy and the visual impact of turbines on the landscape. David Hardy, representing Yelland Wind Farm Ltd, said every single proposal for a wind farm development that had been put forward in Devon to this date had been resisted by the relevant local planning authority. There had been one in the South Hams, three in West Devon, five in Torridge and three in North Devon. Devon?s first and only windfarm at Bradworthy was won on appeal ? Mr Hardy represented the appellant at the time. The solicitor said this renewable energy development was a direct response to central Government policy on combating climate change and specifically from the firm intention of the Government to generate 10% of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Devon County Council had a target figure to produce 105 megawatts of power from onshore wind power by that year, but currently just 3MW had been installed, said Mr Hardy. ?The need for onshore wind developments is urgent and compelling and the extent of need is the weightiest of considerations in the planning balance ? time is running out,? he added. ?There has never been an onshore wind farm constructed that has not generated significant landscape and visual effects. The borough council itself accepts that it is Devon which has the greatest potential for wind energy developments in the South West.? Representing West Devon Borough Council Philip Drinkwater reaffirmed the council?s commitment to renewable energy, but said the authority could not approve planning applications of this nature regardless of their impact. He said: ?By their very nature wind turbines are likely to have a substantial visual impact on the local landscape, having said that, there may well be sites within the local authority?s area where they could be accommodated, but this site was not one of them.? Mr Drinkwater said it was important to balance the case for renewable energy against the protection for present and future generations of perhaps our most valuable non-renewable asset, the countryside. ?The site in question is located but a short distance from Dartmoor National Park amongst rolling pasture typical of Devonshire farmland set against the dramatic backdrop of the spectacular natural features of the high tors of the national park,? he said. Sean Brunton, representing interested parties, including Dartmoor Preservation Association, said to reach 151MW, Devon would require a proliferation of windfarms by 2010 which was ?unachievable and unacceptable?. ?Yelland is a site of maximum exposure ? there is a high pass at Sourton and many many people are forced to pass that way. These turbines will be seen from huge swathes of countryside.? Opponents of the windfarm scheme will be flying a balloon in Simmons Park today (Thursday) from noon until 3pm to show the height of the proposed turbines.
