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Banks Renewables has abandoned its plan to build three massive wind-turbines near Killington Reservoir in Cumbria (near junction 37 on the M6 motorway)—the gateway to the Lake District and the Western Fells of the Yorkshire Dales.
Photomontage of the three turbines from Fairthorns Road, west of the M6 motorway, looking north east, with the Howgill Fells behind. Photo and montage: Mike Hall
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, called in the application last March after South Lakeland District Council approved it, against the officer’s recommendation, in February.
The Open Spaces Society, FELLS (Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunedale Scenery), the Friends of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales Society had all objected and a public inquiry was scheduled for September. Now the Planning Inspectorate has announced that the application has been withdrawn.
This is splendid news. The development had far-reaching, national implications. The site is close to the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks and the whole region is immensely popular for quiet recreation. The 132-metre-high turbines would have destroyed many of the magnificent views over a wide area including that of the Howgills from the M6 motorway.
We are relieved that the developers have backed down.