DONEGAL County Council has refused planning permission for the erection of three wind turbines near Inver.
Huntstown Windfarm Ltd submitted an application to the local authority on July 30.
The application sought permission for the erection of three turbines with a hub height u to 69m and a maximum blade tip height up to 110m at Altcor and Meenagranogue, Inver.
The application sought permission also for the provision of underground cabling, borrow bit and associated access roads, hardstands, the clear felling of trees and site works.
The proposal suggested a grid connection via an electrical connection into the nearby Killen Hill sub station.
Donegal County Council rejected the application.
The Council, in its decision, noted that a recent successful High Court action challenging the nature of the wind energy policies adopted as part of the County Development Plan 2018-2024 has resulted in the removal of significant parts of the wind energy policies from the Plan.
“Although the Council has committed to resolving this situation through the initiation of a variation to the County Development Plan in 2019, in the interim, it has meant that there are deficiencies within the Wind Energy Policy Framework to enable the Planning Authority to carry out proper decision making on wind energy development proposals,” the Council said.
In what the authority says is having ‘regard to the extent of the lacuna in Wind Energy policy’, they said it would be ‘premature and contrary to proper planning and sustainable development to permit the current wind farm development proposal.’
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