OPPONENTS of a scheme to build three wind turbines on the edge of Dartmoor said they were confident they had been ?speaking for a huge part of the local community?, as the final evidence was heard last week in the public inquiry into the proposals. Ray Quirke, chairman of ODAT (Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Wind Turbines) felt the representatives of the parties lined up to fight the scheme ?all rose magnificently to the occasion? at the final day of the inquiry last Thursday. Mr Quirke said: ?Whatever the final result may be ? and I cannot guess which way it might go ? it has been a privilege and a pleasure to be part of such a splendid team.? Simon Essex, proprietor of the nearby Manor House Hotel, said: ?If this scheme is approved, Dartmoor National Park will cease to exist, as we know it.? Mr Essex said the National Park had been carefully preserved for more than 50 years. ?If our generation is to throw it away, I would hope that someone can explain our actions to our children. To ruin the countryside would be tragic. To ruin the biggest asset in the countryside would be a disaster,? he said. Mr Essex also described the arguments put forward by developers West Coast Energy as ?erroneous? and ?shallow?. West Coast Energy launched an appeal following the decision of West Devon Borough Council to refuse a planning application to build three 81m high, 1.3 MW turbines on land at Yelland Farm, Bowerland, near Okehampton. The public inquiry, which initially began in June, was reconvened in the Charter Hall last Thursday to allow inspector Keith Smith to hear a final day of evidence. The hearing also heard from Dr John Constable, the director of policy and research for the Renewable Energy Foundation, a charity which provides data and research on renewable energy technology. Dr Constable said that climate change was a global issue, of which the UK was only a small player. ?The UK produces around 2% of global greenhouse emissions, but as development increases in China and India, that percentage is expected to fall. We could turn the UK off tomorrow and it would have next to no effect,? Dr Constable said. However, he said the UK did have value as a demonstrator of possible renewable projects, but that the government?s policy instrument was currently too skewed in favour of on-shore wind power. He said China, for example, was mainly getting its energy from coal, but that Britain could play a role as a demonstrator for new sustainable technologies. ?We want China to look at the UK and say ??that is good?? and make the change,? he said. David Hardy, representing Yelland Wind Farm Ltd, said: ?Based on sound evidence, the appellant has demonstrated the proposal development is of the right size, is in the right place and comes at the right time.? Mr Hardy said the general debate on the issue had been informed not by facts, but by emotions, with a ?vociferous minority? strongly opposing the scheme throughout the planning process. In closing the public inquiry, Mr Smith said he would consider the evidence and expected his decision to be issued at the end of October.