Whinash wind farm rejected

Ministers have rejected an application to construct a

on common land at Whinash, near Tebay in

.

Chalmerston Wind Power and the Renewable Development Company led the proposed project to build the turbines, which would have generated around 67 megawatts of electricity.

Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks and Rural Affairs Minister Jim Knight have accepted the recommendations of the Inspector, Mr David Rose, who held a public inquiry last year, to refuse permission for a 27 turbine wind farm at Bretherdale and Roundthwaite commons, near Tebay.

Both Ministers accept Mr Rose’s conclusions that the effects on the landscape and its value for recreation would be so serious that they would outweigh the benefits of securing a renewable energy source and the need to address climate change.

“Tackling global warming is critical but we must also nurture the immediate environment and wildlife. This is at the crux of the debate over wind energy,” commented Mr Wicks.