CONTROVERSIAL plans to create a turbine wind farm on green belt land have been given the go-ahead.
Peel Energy has been given consent by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to build the 19-turbine wind farm near Frodsham, which will supply enough energy for 25,000 homes, including hundreds of households in Elton, near Chester.
The plans were opposed by Cheshire West and Chester (CWaC) and a public inquiry was held in December 2011, where the inspector submitted his report in favour of the development.
Frodsham town councillor Graham Bondi said: “I am very disappointed with the conclusions of the report and the decision to proceed with the building of this development.
“My view is that the harm outweighs the benefits of this wind farm and I find it worrying that this will be happening near a population centre such as Frodsham and done so on green belt land.
“This will have an effect on the view of the area and a negative impact on tourism in the area.”
Peel Energy has claimed that the 57 megawatt wind farm, which will supply enough energy annually to service Frodsham, Helsby and Elton, will create 50 new construction jobs and bring reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of up to some 50,000 tonnes per annum.
A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “Onshore wind provides a clean, secure and home-grown source of energy which can make a real contribution to reducing emissions.
“This new wind farm will provide a significant amount of renewable electricity and bring benefits to the local community.”
Recently it was also announced that drilling for shale gas could get under way after huge reserves of the gas were discovered at nearby Ince Marshes. Work to create a massive biomass plant in Ince is also set to start later this year.