CONTROVERSIAL plans to build six wind turbines near Kendal have been given the go-ahead.

Following a two-week public inquiry in May, the independent planning inspector has approved the 100-metre high Armistead turbines near Old Hutton.

Dr Mike Hall, vice-chairman of FELLS (Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery), said the move was a ‘bad omen’ for the tranquility of the Lune and Kent Valleys.

“We have always argued that if you let one windfarm in, others are likely to follow,” he said.

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ with the decision.

And he added: “The planning application was refused by an elected planning committee only to be overruled by an unelected inspector.”

But Sonny Khan, chairman of South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) has called the decision a ‘beacon of hope for the future’ in terms of tackling climate change.

Developers, County Durham-based Banks Developments, ap-pealed to the planning inspectorate after South Lakeland District Council refused planning consent last October.