Energy giant wins appeal over refusal of wind farm project

Planning inspector Paul Griffiths overturned the council's planning committee's refusal of a three 11-metre high turbines at Tedder Hill, Roos.

Councillors had previously thrown out the scheme on the grounds of cumulative impact.

In upholding energy giant E.on's appeal, Mr Griffiths said there were mitigating factors "that would combine to ensure the overall degree of harm would not be significant".

Mr Griffiths said he did not share the view that the turbines introduced an "industrial" element in the countryside and could not consider the cumulative impact of other schemes until they gained approval.

"There have been applications for turbine clusters relatively close to the appeal site at Sunderland Farm, Roos and Monkwith," he said.

"The former was refused planning permission and is in the appeal process and the latter, as I write, is awaiting a council decision. There are other proposals on-shore and off-shore...I do not accept that their approval is somehow inevitable."

He also said he did not believe conservation areas in Roos and Tunstall would be harmed.

Vice chairman of Roos Parish Council Jackie Cracknell said it was a "very disappointing" result.

She said she believed the Government's rush to put up turbines when the technology had not been perfected was a mistake along the same lines of the rush in the 1960s to build concrete tenements.

She added: "I am so disappointed for all of the people who will be affected. A lot of things we thought counted for something have been dismissed by the inspector."