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Appeal over wind turbine
Credit: Tom Wright, Reporter | January 3, 2013 | www.thewestonmercury.co.uk ~~
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A manufacturing company plans to lodge an appeal after North Somerset Council refused it planning permission for a wind turbine.
Smart Systems Ltd wanted to put up a 79m-high renewable energy turbine on the outskirts of Yatton.
But the proposal attracted strong criticism from residents and the council’s planning officers recommended rejecting it on the grounds that it would have an ‘unacceptable visual impact on the character and appearance of the Moors landscape’.
Councillors agreed to turn down the proposal by a majority vote at December’s meeting.
A Smart spokesman said he was disappointed at the decision and confirmed the company plans to appeal against it.
Other concerns raised by planning officers included the damage the turbine would do to the appearance of the nearby St Mary’s Church and that it would harm the bats which inhabit the area surrounding the aluminium plant in Arnolds Way.
Simon Reakes, who lives close to the factory site, said a turbine would be a blight on the landscape and would create an ‘intrusive’ amount of noise.
He added: “I think what swung it in our favour was the bat colony. I’m all in favour of the bats if they stop the turbine.”
It is the second time the company has had an application for a wind turbine turned down.
A similar application for a 67m turbine, and a subsequent appeal, was rejected in 2010 and despite Smart addressing the main concerns, councillors again voted against the idea.
The company wants to expand its premises and has put a separate planning application to the council. If approved, it hopes a larger facility would create a further 200 jobs.
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