The South Lakeland District Council’s planning committee has rejected an application to extend the life of the Kirkby Moor wind farm to 2027
The application was made by Innogy Renewables on behalf of Zephyr Investments Ltd. The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s leading pressure group for the protection of common land, is delighted at the rejection.
Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said: ‘We objected because the turbines are a severe intrusion in a wild landscape, highly visible from many directions and in particular from the Lake District National Park.
“Furthermore, the turbines occupy a significant area of registered common land, where the public has the right to walk and commoners have the right to graze stock. The moor is also criss-crossed with public rights of way.
“It is wonderful news that the council has rejected the plans. Now we need to make sure that every trace of the turbines is removed when the current consent expires next year, so that this magnificent common is restored to its former glory.”
The application was opposed by the Friends of the Lake District and many other organisations, parish councils and local people.
The Open Spaces Society was founded in 1865 and is Britain’s oldest national conservation body. It campaigns to protect common land, village greens, open spaces and public paths, and people’s right to enjoy them. Commons are protected from development – any works on commons require the consent of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (via the Planning Inspectorate). The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives the public the right to walk on all commons where there was not already such a right.
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