A CONTROVERSIAL wind turbine scheme is to go ahead, despite being rejected by Kirklees Council.
Residents had battled against the plan to set up two 18-metre turbines in the hamlet of Nettleton Hill, near Golcar.
The proposal was refused by Kirklees Council last July but the applicant, Kevin Charlesworth, appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and has now been given the green-light for the development.
The turbines will generate 120,000 kWh, which is 10 times the amount produced by the council’s two wind turbines at the Civic Centre.
The application, for land adjoining Upper Prospect, had been rejected by the council.
Concerns were raised about the potential impact of the turbines on the area’s listed buildings as well as the visual effect on residents.
The council was also concerned about submitted information on the noise the wind turbines would generate and shadow flicker.
Health and safety issues were raised about the possibility of blade throw and the proposal was questioned on the basis that the renewable energy it would produce was greater than that required to serve the area.
But planning inspector Paul Griffiths allowed the appeal and granted planning permission for the scheme to go ahead, subject to conditions.
He concluded in his report: “The proposal would not cause significant or serious harm to the character or appearance of the surrounding countryside.
“It would result in no detriment to the setting of nearby listed buildings, neither would it have any significant impact on the living conditions of local residents or the experience of visitors.
“The proposal would secure very significant benefits through the generation of electricity from a renewable source.
“I consider these benefits to be a consideration that clearly outweighs the harm by reason of inappropriateness.”
Meanwhile, Dewsbury MP Simon Reevell has criticised a proposal to build a 39-metre high wind turbine in Denby Dale.
V G Energy have submitted a planning application to build the turbine at Dry Hill Lane.
The MP expressed his opposition in writing to the council after meeting with unhappy residents.
He said: “I don’t understand the need to build wind turbines so close to people’s properties.
“Local residents would be far more likely to support these kinds of developments if they were built in sensible locations, built away from built up areas and thriving communities.”
