CAMPAIGNERS against a proposed wind farm in Woolavington say they are increasingly confident it will not go ahead – after a High Court ruling against a nearby turbines scheme.

More than 350 people have written to Sedgemoor District Council about EDF Energy Renewables’ application for five 126-metre turbines on land at Withy End, Causeway, with the vast majority objecting.

Richard Young, clerk to Woolavington Parish Council, said: “The general feeling is that people are opposed to this.

“There have been a lot of objections over the detrimental impact it would have on the environment and scenic quality of the area, and noise nuisance.” 

Although a date for the district council to make a decision has not yet been set, campaigners have been buoyed by a High Court ruling, reported last month, dismissing a challenge by another developer Ecotricity, which effectively ends its plans for four 120-metre turbines south of Poplar Farm, West Huntspill. 

Mr Young said that verdict had “given everyone hope”.

Brian Crosby, treasurer of the Huntspill Wind Farm Action Group, which has been fighting a number of wind farm applications in the Huntspill and Woolavington areas, said: “We’ve been fighting these wind farms for four years.

“There were 355 responses to this application and 348 were against.

“These wind farm companies have large pockets and it’s difficult to raise the money to fight these applications, which are popping up all over Sedgemoor, but we’re more optimistic now than we’ve ever been following the High Court decision.” 

If built, EDF Energy Renewables says the Withy End project would generate 10MW of renewable energy to feed into the national grid.

A spokesman said: “We expect a decision later this year. As this project’s going through the planning process it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment at this time, and it isn’t appropriate for us to comment on another company’s project.”

EDF Energy Renewables applied unsuccessfully to build five turbines on a nearby site in Puriton – the scheme was thrown out by Sedgemoor District Council in 2012.