WEST Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox has called on the Ministry of Defence to explain its sudden decision to withdraw objections to the proposed wind farm at Yelland near Okehampton. In May, the Ministry of Defence lodged strong objections to the plan to erect 80-metre high turbines on the edge of Dartmoor, claiming it would interfere with essential low level training flights in the area. But on September 30, the ?Safeguarding Renewable Energy? division of Defence Estates, the section of the MoD which looks after training areas like those on Dartmoor, wrote to West Devon Borough Council withdrawing all of its objections without explanation. Mr Cox has launched a probe to uncover the reasons behind this abrupt decision. He said: ?The Ministry of Defence have offered no justification for this shift in policy. Five months ago, they were categorically opposed to the construction of these wind turbines on the grounds that they would limit the capability for realistic training in the area and pose a direct threat to aircraft circumventing the restricted airspace which exists over much of Dartmoor.? Mr Cox said the circumstances had remained unchanged since May, yet the MoD had withdrawn its objections and was instead instructing military aircraft to ?avoid direct overflight of the site?. He added: ?Helicopters regularly take off and land in the vicinity and other aircraft routinely operate at a height of just 75 metres, within half a mile of the proposed site. ?The proposed site will be hazardous to pilots, and I wish to discover what prompted this dramatic and seemingly inexplicable reversal of policy.? Mr Cox said he had put down parliamentary questions for the Secretary of State for Defence on the issue and was hoping for a response at the start of next week. The application by developers West Coast Energy to build three wind turbines on land just over a kilometre from the boundary of Dartmoor National Park Authority was turned down by West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee in May. The developers have since lodged an appeal against the decision with the Planning Inspectorate. Jonathan Cardale, chief executive of the Dartmoor Preservation Association said he was ?surprised? by the MoD?s decision: ?I think questions need to be asked as to why the MoD has changed its tune and if someone else has put pressure on them to soften their line.? A spokesman for West Coast Energy said they were pleased the MoD had withdrawn its objections and looked forward to making their case to the inquiry. The planning inquiry is unlikely to be heard before next summer.
