A PUBLIC inquiry into controversial proposals for a windfarm at Whinash cannot go ahead until the impact of the development on an area of blanket bog has been assessed, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, will shortly ask the developer behind the scheme to provide more information about any impact on the bog. English Nature will decide what information is required.

Eden District Council spokesperson Nicci Grieve said the secretary of state had no latitude to simply refuse consent for the windfarm, except where the development would impact on a site protected by a European-recognised designation.

For the Whinash site the relevant issues would include the impact on blanket bog, and if there were objections from commoners about rights issues, which would need to be resolved.

However, the public inquiry into the windfarm would be required, she said.

"There will be a public inquiry because of the local authority objections, however, before that public inquiry can get underway, there has to be more information supplied to English Nature regarding the implic-ations of the dev-elopment on the blanket bog," she said.

The West Coast Energy Ltd scheme for 27 turbines on the fells at Whinash near Tebay has sparked opposition from people who live in the area and further afield.

Conservation officer for English Nature Jacqueline Ogden said that blanket bog was a layer of peat over wet rolling ground, which was usually home to plants like cotton grass and heather. Breeding birds such as curlews, and others like peregrine falcons and short eared owls, could also be found on blanket bog.

English Nature would be concerned about the effect on the area and the plants if the bog was to dry out as a result of the windfarm, and any impact on the management of the land.

The impact assessment would look at whether the windfarm would have a good or bad effect, she said.

The earliest date for the inquiry, which is expected to last four to six weeks, would be spring next year.

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