Windfarm plan thrown out

Wednesday 11th February 2009, 2:40PM GMT.

Plans for a windfarm on land near Market Drayton have been turned down by councillors amid fears it would hinder RAF work.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s planning committee also refused Claymoss Properties Limited permission for the four turbines on the Maer Hills at Blackbrook because they would affect observations at Jodrell Bank.

Defence bosses had claimed the 410m turbines would appear on the radar at nearby RAF Shawbury, meaning pilots would have to redirect training flights, posing an increased danger to trainee pilots.

Councillor Brian Tomkins, ward member for Loggerheads and Whitmore said after last night’s meeting people felt the turbines would blight the landscape.

Joanna Gabrilatsou, a planning agent for Claymoss Properties, today refused to rule out an appeal.

Meanwhile North Shropshire councillors were deciding today whether to allow mobile phone giant Vodafone to build a mast on land at Tunstall Hall Farm, Betton, near Market Drayton.

View more: North Shropshire news.