Wind turbine plans win Shropshire Council go-ahead

The turbines will be built at Oaklands Farm in Bagley, near Ellesmere, and at The Firs in Ruyton-XI-Towns, near Shrewsbury. Both projects were approved by Shropshire Council's north planning committee yesterday.

The 60kW wind turbine at Bagley will be installed on agricultural land and is expected to produce 175,000kW of energy every year to power the site.

Members of Hordley Parish Council had objected to the scheme, claiming it would be too close to homes.

Residents had also raised concerns, saying the turbine would be visible from their properties.

Meanwhile, the 50kW turbine in Ruyton-XI-Towns, which will be 46 metres tall, will be used to supply electricity to the applicant's farm. Local people had raised concerns about noise and the potential impact on their health.

The schemes had both been recommended for approval by planning officers ahead of yesterday's meeting at Edinburgh House in Wem.

Speaking about the application for Bagley, Joyce Barrow, councillor for St Oswald, said: "Noise is the only thing that is concerning me. With wind turbines we might not like them but because of planning law we struggle to find reasons to oppose them."

A spokesman for the applicant said: "It's about farm diversification. The site provides good wind speed. We carried out a local consultation exercise."

A report to the council on behalf of the applicant said the turbine would reduce the farm's emissions of carbon dioxide by about 100 tonnes each year.

It added: "It is intended to locate the turbine towards the west of the field to protect the views from neighbouring properties and surrounding area as far as possible, while at the same time ensuring their productivity will not be impaired."

Councillor Keith Barrow said of the Ruyton-XI-Towns scheme: "I can't see any reason in planning law to refuse the application."

Councillor Paul Wynn, member for Prees, said: "There are other turbines of that size in the area."