PART of the district has "reached the limit" of the number of wind turbines it can take, according to a planning expert.

Bradford Council planning officer Peter Timbrell made the assertion as he refused a planning application for a turbine at Wellfield Bar Farm on Brighouse And Denholme Road in Queensbury.

The turbine would have stood 36 metres tall to the tip of the blades.

Mr Timbrell argued that allowing a further turbine on the site would further harm the surrounding landscape, already dotted with numerous wind turbines.

In his report, he stated: “The support for a number of turbines in the landscape has been instrumental in reducing the pressure for this form of development on the most open, and fragile, uplands that lend much to the attractiveness of the district.

“However, there is clearly a limit to the degree of development that the area can satisfactorily absorb and it is considered here that that limit has been reached."

Anthea Orchard, of Denholme Gate, has campaigned against many of the wind farms in the area, and welcomed Mr Timbrell’s comments. She said: “This is a really big decision.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a while. We have always said there should be a limit in place, and clearly we were right.

“But at the moment it still depends on which planning officer is making the decision. The council says it has to look at each application on its own merits, but it does have to look at the bigger picture.

“This needs to become part of the council’s policy and soon.”