THE controversial proposal to erect three 81-metre high wind turbines on land just outside Okehampton is being recommended for refusal by West Devon planners. The application, by Yelland Wind Farm Limited, has attracted huge opposition in the area and sparked the setting up of a local pressure group, Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Wind Turbines (ODAT). So far, West Devon Borough Council has received almost 1,500 letters objecting to the scheme. The planning committee is due to consider the application in Tavistock on Tuesday. West Coast Energy has applied to build the turbines, a sub-station, an anemometry mast to measure wind speed, access tracks and ancillary equipment on land at Bowerland Road, south of Okehampton and just over a kilometre from the boundary of Dartmoor National Park. Ray Quirke, chairman of ODAT, said he was pleased the application was being recommended for refusal ? but felt the developers had ?got off awfully lightly?. He said: ?We feel it should be refused on as strong grounds as possible. The developers have told us they expect to lose locally ? but that they will win on appeal. ?In our view, we have to make it as difficult as possible for them to appeal.? Mr Quirke said the evidence West Coast Energy had provided regarding the impact of wind turbines on tourism was out of date. ?I think we are all in favour of renewable energy, but not in inappropriate places. They are hiding behind semantics and misleading information,? he said. Sourton Parish Council, which hosted a public meeting on the issue last month, received 316 letters of objections to the proposals. It is opposing the scheme on a list of grounds, including visual impact on the surrounding area, detrimental impact on local tourism and the economy and fears that consent could form a ?dangerous precedent? for similar applications. It did, however, point out that four people at its public meeting supported the scheme on renewable energy grounds. The application has also been opposed by Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council, the CPRE, the Ramblers? Association and Dartmoor National Park Authority. In a lengthy report to next week?s committee meeting, planning chief Stephen Gill said a number of issues needed to be taken into account, but visual impact, the effect on tourism, nearby residents and noise were of ?major importance?. ?Any adverse impact will have to be weighed against the benefits of renewable and sustainable energy, taking particular account of the Government?s target for renewable energy,? he said. With regard to visual impact, the views most affected by the proposed turbines would be towards the moors. Mr Gill said the developers accepted there would be ?some significant impact?, but that it was not necessarily ?unacceptably adverse?. But Mr Gill added: ?However, the landscape officer?s comments do not substantiate this claim. He considers some of the views would show a complete change ? he considers the application should be refused.? The planning department does not feel the negative impact of the turbines on tourism can be proved and that noise generated by them would have to be set against traffic noise from the nearby A30. The ?important contribution? of provision of 3.9MW of sustainable energy had to be balanced against the impact of the turbines on the surrounding countryside. On Tuesday, councillors will have to decide if any adverse impact was significant enough to warrant refusal. Neil Exton, land and development manager for West Coast Energy Ltd, said Devon had only given planning permission for wind farms producing 6MW of energy to date ? yet the Government required it to find 97MW over the next five years. ?Devon has a lot of work to do to meet these targets. We believe this site meets the environmental criteria that would help to meet these targets,? said Mr Exton. He added that the company would wait until the planning committee had made its decision next week, before deciding on any further moves.