A LAST-ditch attempt to build a wind turbine at a Bradshaw farm has been rejected by government inspectors.

Paul Joule appealed to the national planning inspectorate to overturn Bolton Council’s decision to not allow him to build a triple-bladed wind turbine in land at Meadow Barn Field, off Slack Lane.

The application had sparked a campaign by Bradshaw residents, who said the turbine had no place in greenbelt land and would destroy the countryside.

In a report, inspector Louise Crosby, who visited the farm in March, agreed a wind turbine would affect the beauty of the area — and threw out the appeal.

She said: “I saw when I visited the site this area offers excellent views across the valley.

“It has an open and rugged character, with just sporadic farmsteads and dwellings, making it dramatically different to urban areas such as Bradshaw at the bottom of the hill.

“This marked contrast is an important feature of this landscape area, “An uncharacteristically large vertical structure with rotating blades, such as that proposed here, in this generally open moorland landscape, which is described as having a sense of wilderness, would result in an unacceptable intrusion and alter the key characteristics of the landscape type.”

Bradshaw councillor Mudasir Dean said he was delighted the government had backed Bolton Council’s decision to reject the application.

He added: “It’s great news — the right decision has been made.

“This should send a strong message to any developers or farmers that they shouldn’t bother putting in any applications for turbines in our greenbelt.”

In March a separate application to build a turbine ‘half the size of Blackpool tower’ on land in Birches Farm, Turton, was also turned down by Bolton Council’s planning committee.