December 5, 2007
England
England
A plan for nine wind turbines would be “detrimental” to Mid Devon, say councillors.
Mid Devon District Council has been asked for its views on a scheme for nine turbines on land at Three Moors by North Devon District Council, which will make the final decision on whether to allow the scheme.
The scheme has been put forward by Airtricity Developments and will have a total installed capacity of 18MW, with each turbine likely to consist of a 65m high tower with a 40m blade.
Speaking at a special meeting of the council’s planning committee on Wednesday, Cllr Polly Colthorpe, who represents the Clare and Shuttern ward, said people were very unhappy about the plan.
She said: ” I fear the impact of this will be as great in Mid Devon as in North Devon.”
Her views, however, were not shared by all fellow councillors, including Cllr David Nation. He said: “This application would clearly have a limited visual impact on our area. We must address the issue of climate change. In a perfect world, I would like to see more use of off-shore technologies.”
An environmental report into the proposals found that in Mid Devon the turbines would be visible from areas along the western boundary in Oakford parish near Bickham Moor, to the east of Bampton and on the northern boundary of the district near Morebath.
More limited views in the Mid Devon area were from high ground around Black Dog, Hele Barton and to the south of Witheridge.
The council resolved to recommend refusal of the proposed development because of its “unacceptable landscape impact, its potential adverse affect on tourism in the area and its detrimental impact on residents in a sizeable area of Mid Devon”.
4 December 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/12/05/council-says-turbines-plan-is-unacceptible/