A public planning inquiry into the Winslade Turbine planning application was held on Tuesday, September 6 at South Hams Council’s chambers in Totnes.

This followed the application being ‘called in’ by the then secretary of state for communities and local government, Greg Clark MP in October 2015.

The applicants were represented by the barrister David Hassall, and members of the local community opposing the application by the barrister Charles Banner.

The inquiry was expected to last over four days but ended after two and half.

In May 2014, councillors on the district council’s development management committee approved plans for a 34-metre high wind turbine at Winslade Farm near Frogmore. But objectors, namely a group formed to oppose the application, Friends of South Hams applied for a judicial review, and in August a judge quashed the decision.

The planning application was resubmitted and councillors once again granted permission in December 2014. But within hours, the department for communities and local government had written to South Hams Council’s development manager Malcolm Elliott demanding that they call a halt, to allow the then secretary of state, Eric Pickles to consider whether to ‘call in’ the application.

The planning inspector will now submit his report and recommendations to the new secretary of state, Sajid Javid MP.

The planning inspector’s report will be published with the secretary of state’s decision sometime in March 2017.