PEOPLE of Winkleigh and neighbouring parishes turned out in force last week to hear about a controversial wind turbine proposal near the village.

More than 120 people attended a public meeting at Winkleigh Village Hall on January 8 to hear about the proposal for a 77 metre high turbine at Bryony Hill Farm near Winkleigh.

If given the go-ahead, the turbine would have a 27-metre rotor radius, and a 50-metre hub height.

The meeting was called to give residents the chance to hear about the scheme and share their views with developer Mi-Grid and the applicant Martin Goddard.

Members of the parish councils of Winkleigh, Iddesleigh, Broadwood-kelly and Ashreigney were in attendance.

Penny Mills, chair of the Campaign to Protect Rural England in the Torridge District, said: 'The hall was packed, with people from Winkleigh, Iddesleigh, Broadwood-kelly, Monkokehampton and surrounding areas.

'There was overwhelming opposition to the proposal, and from people from a wide area. Jonathan Kearsley of Mi-Grid asked at the beginning if anybody present supported the application, and only five people put their hand up.

'The message was clear. Local people do not want this turbine.'

The proposed turbine at Bryony Hill Farm would generate approximately 1,516 MWh per year, equivalent to the average energy consumption of 324 homes in the Torridge area. The turbine would offset 675 tonnes of CO2 a year, 16,875 tonnes over its lifetime.

Developer Mi-Grid has pledged to make an annual payment of £5,000 to Winkleigh Parish Council each year the turbine stands, for up to 25 years. This money can be used for the parish church, chapel, village hall, youth club and other community groups.

A spokesperson for Mi-Grid, the developer behind the proposal, said: 'Those that attended mainly had concerns regarding the project and the meeting offered an opportunity to voice these concerns.

'The number of people present at the event represented a small percentage of the population of the parish. Typically those in support of such schemes do not attend public meetings, although a handful were present.

'The proposal will generate clean, secure, renewable energy for 25 years which will be exported to the local distribution grid.

'The energy generated will be enough to power the equivalent of 324 homes — approximately 40 percent of the homes in Winkleigh.

'The main questions were regarding impact to house prices, for which there is little evidence to suggest a project of this scale would have a significant effect, the likely noise impact, which has been confirmed to be within the required limits by an independent acoustic consultant, and similar potential impacts which have been addressed in our application.'

A campaign group called The Protection of Rural Devon Group has been set up in opposition to the development of turbines in the area.

There are numerous applications for turbines in the district, with as many as five turbine applications for the Okement Valley.

The valley is the rural setting for Michael Morpurgo's smash hit novel War Horse.

Interest in the book, first published in 1982, rocketed after it was adapted into a successful stage play in 2007, and a Hollywood blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg in 2011.

The valley, and the War Horse Valley Museum near Iddesleigh, help to draw tourists to the area.

English Heritage has also expressed its desire to see the application refused, harbouring concerns that the turbine would affect a number of medieval churches in the area.

Within five kilometres of the application site there are four Grade I and one Grade II* listed churches, as well as four Grade II* listed houses and seven scheduled ancient monuments.

In a letter to Torridge District Council, English Heritage describes the turbine in a photomontage as 'an overpowering and incongruous intrusion into such a traditional scene'.

To find out more, visit the Torridge planning website, quoting application number 1/0967/2013/FUL.