Wind turbine plan rejected by council
The British Yoga Centre (BYC) had warned that it may have had to close because the 340ft-high turbines would ruin the tranquillity if they were erected nearby.
But yesterday, the proposal at Dunsland Cross, Holsworthy, was rejected by members of Torridge District Council's planning committee on a number of grounds.
Ann Williams, principal at the BYC, said she was "delighted" at the outcome. She said it had safeguarded the jobs of 38 workers and she was now hopeful that expansion proposals could be taken off ice. "We are quietly highly optimistic that we are now safe and we can go ahead with our plans," she said.
Lindsay Dearing, of the Dunsland Turbines Opposition Group, said the planning committee had shown "fairness and diligence" in reaching the decision. "They have shown fairness and due diligence in assessing this application and have shown that the planning system is still robust enough to protect residents and wildlife from inappropriate developments such as the wind farm proposed for Dunsland Cross.
"They have rejected this application despite being under intense pressure from central Government to push such schemes through.
"This decision sends out a clear signal to other would-be speculators like Bolsterstone, the property and investments management company behind this proposal. It was clear right from the start that this site had too many constraints."
Hugo Barton, chairman of Torridge District Council's planning committee, said all the parties involved were in favour of renewable energy. But he said the main reasons that the application failed were because of concerns over wildlife and a lack of information surrounding noise impact.
There was particular concern about populations of nightjar, bats and skylarks. The councillors' decision echoed the recommendation of planning officers.
Coun Barton said: "They just weren't happy that the information was tight enough in terms of the impact it would have on local residents and wildlife in the area."
The committee granted permission to a separate application from the same developer for a mast which measures wind speeds. The data can be used to help reinforce the case for a turbine application. "It should provide information that may be useful to developers if they come back with a further application," he said.
Nobody from Bolsterstone was available for comment yesterday.
