Pickles blocks Lincolnshire wind turbine plan over heritage concerns

East Lindsey District Council refused permission for the turbines on land adjacent to Louth Canal, near Tetney, Lincolnshire, in April 2013.

The scheme proposed the erection of three wind turbines up to 113.5m to blade tip on a site surrounding by agricultural land approximately 1.4km to the south of Tetney.

East Lindsey District Council’s reasons for refusing the application included concerns that the proposed development, by reason of its siting, scale and moving parts, would have an adverse impact on the Grade II listed Thoresby Warehouse and its setting.

Appellant PFR (Louth Canal) Limited appealed the council's decision, but in a decision note issued last week Pickles agreed with the recommendation of planning inspector Zoë Hill, who said that planning permission should be refused.

Pickles agreed with the inspector's conclusion that the proposals would cause "considerable harm to the significance of Thorseby Warehouse which falls not far short of substantial harm".

The secretary of state agreed with the inspector that the harm to the setting of the Grade II listed building "would not be outweighed by the benefits that would be produced by way of renewable energy production of the level proposed, and the associated economic benefits and modest habitat benefits".

Pickles concluded that the proposed scheme "is not, and cannot be made, acceptable".