WIND TURBINE REFUSED PLANS for a wind turbine overlooking the Amman valley have been thwarted by Carmarthenshire County Council. Local campaigners were delighted after today’s decision by members of the authority’s planning committee Llandybie councillor Anthony Jones said afterwards: “I’m very pleased “It reflected the views of the local members d the local community. “Although there were some letters of support nearly all came from people outside the area. “The proposal was just not suited to this area.” Sian and Alun James had applied for permission to construct the turbine at Castell Y Graig, near Llandybie. Dozens of campaigners turned up to a site visit at the turbine’s would-be location this morning. A balloon on a string to indicate the height of the proposed structure had been placed nearby. And one objector speaking at the meeting afterwards brought in a scale model of the turbine, which he compared with scale models of a house and a person. Tim Shaw also said the turbine would be noisy and unattractive, and insisted it would not produce enough electricity to justify its existence. At a previous meeting committee members had asked to visit the site to gauge what impact the turbine would have on the surrounding area. Among dozens of local objections were fears about how the view could be spoiled, to the detriment of the tourist industry. It was also feared the structure, which would be second hand, could create unacceptable levels of noise, especially when running at night. Speaking during the meeting local member Mary Thoimas said: “I know this will have an effect on Llandybie and Pentregwernlais. “This is the wrong place to site this turbine.” She was rewarded with a round of applause, as were other local members Ken Griffiths and Anthony Jones, who also spoke against the development. Many members were supportive of the principle of renewable energy from wind turbines, but felt there was not enough evidence of the efficiency of the machine. There was also not enough assurance about how noisy the second-hand turbine would be. Members agreed with the recommendation of the planning officer’s report, which was to refuse the application. Press note: For more information contact Sam Burson, press officer, on  Last Updated: 17/10/2003