DEVON CONSISTENTLY REJECTS WIND FARMS
Devon in the south west of England continues to reject any wind farm development within its borders. A planning inspector backed the local authority by rejecting an appeal for a 23 turbine wind farm at Fullabrook in north Devon. It was the second planning inquiry that local farmer Keith Apps has fought in order to build a wind farm in north Devon. His first proposal for 12 turbines was turned down on appeal by the Secretary of State for the Environment in 1992. In the most recent decision, the planning inspector supports the county's development plan. He says the wind farm would "unacceptably dominate the outlook" and cause "serious noise pollution" at nearby properties. Balancing these effects against the wind farm's contribution towards clean energy he concludes: "This harm is not outweighed by the benefits of exploiting these particular sources of renewable energy." Although the site does not have any environmental designation, the landscape is of high quality and "worthy of protection for its own sake," he says.