PLANS to erect a 50 kilowatt turbine on Tanners Hill near Meldon have been dismissed on appeal.

The application for a 34-metre turbine was originally dismissed last August by West Devon Borough Council's planning committee because of the visual impact the turbine would have on the landscape.

The turbine would have saved around 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

The applicants, Phil and Mandi Heard, appealed on the grounds that the scheme's environmental benefits would outweigh any impact on the landscape.

Inspector Rupert Grantham said in his appeal report: 'In approaches from the west, the turbine would be screened by trees until views, on the right hand side of the road, open up to reveal the monopole and blades rising above the Dartmoor skyline.

'Whilst the fields are evidence of farming activity, the turbine's presence would be seen, from here, as an intrusion into a mostly unspoilt landscape.

'This is a dramatic landscape and one which, in accordance with the purposes of Dartmoor's designation, is enjoyed by people outside the Park, as well as within it.

'Notwithstanding the workings of Meldon Quarry, this face of the moor presents a still permanence that is largely untouched and in stark contrast to the evidence of man's activity that is found on lower ground.'

Had the development gone ahead, Mr Heard would have granted the North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group a long-term lease on his land for a peppercorn rate, and re-granted access to a permissive path on land around Meldon Reservoir.

Penny Mills from the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England said: 'The CPRE are delighted with this decision.

'Clearly, there would have been an adverse visual impact of Dartmoor and we are glad that the planning inspector agreed.'