Government to decide on wind farm

Government officials will now decide on the windfarm scheme

Residents in an area of South Yorkshire earmarked for a wind farm must wait 28 days to find out if government officials will intervene in the plan.

Councillors in Rotherham voted to allow three turbines to be built on green belt land at Loscar Farm in Harthill.

But local objectors to the long-running plan said it would spoil the landscape and create too much noise.

The Department of Communities and Local Government must now decide whether to call in the plan or not intervene.

Ian Lloyd, the chairman of Harthill with Woodall parish council, said the site earmarked for the scheme was unsuitable.

Landscape value

"We opposed it on that basis that the site is high landscape value and the erection of turbines would totally destroy that," he said.

But Mr Lloyd said he did not think government officials would reverse the council's decision: "I think Whitehall will rubber stamp it".

He said the objectors were pragmatic about the possible building of the turbines: "We'd be disappointed, but Rotherham gave us the opportunity to speak at the meeting.

"If at the end of the day the decision goes against us, well then that's what democracy is all about."

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