The proposed turbine would have been almost as tall as Nelson's Column

National park planners have rejected a farmer’s proposal for a wind turbine almost has high as Nelson’s Column, saying approving it could set a precedent in other national parks.

Robert Gosling applied to put up a turbine just 3m smaller than the Trafalgar Square monument at his farm at Parwich, near Ashbourne in the Peak District.

But the national park’s planning committee said the proposed structure was too tall for a national park and would be highly visible from public rights of way near the site, and also visible from the High Peak and Tissington trails and a wide radius around the area.

In addition, the proposed extent, layout and species of trees planted to shield the base would be incongruous in this open, sweeping landscape, the planners said.

The proposed turbine would have stood 48.4 metres (159ft) tall from base to blade tip at its maximum height, twice as high as any approved in English and Welsh national parks.

The committee said a turbine this size would stand out too much on a protected landscape, harming its scenic beauty as well as historic field patterns.

Although supporting renewable energy, the Peak District National Park Authority’s planners turned down the application, despite Mr Gosling saying the turbine would be expected to generate 498MW of electricity a year for his large dairy and beef operation at Hill Top Farm.

He said the investment would help sustain the farm as a viable business, producing double its present annual demand for electricity, with the surplus providing income from the feed-in tariff.

His supporters said there was a need to adapt to climate change, pointing out the importance of sustaining viable dairy farms and the changing perception of wind turbines, with many people viewing them as graceful additions to the landscape.

However, planning committee chair John Herbert said: “We’re conscious of the need to find ways to keep local farms viable, and we do support the drive for green energy, but not all such schemes are suitable for a protected landscape like ours.

“We have supported individual turbines at several farm locations, but in this instance the turbine was simply too tall to be acceptable. We understand that the applicant has explored and dismissed alternatives, but we believe there may still be scope perhaps for a combination of technologies that would be less damaging to the national park landscape.”

The authority received 32 letters of support for the application from farming organisations and local people, with one objection from a resident. Friends of the Peak District and Natural England both said it was too large but they would support a smaller turbine.

The committee said it was conscious that this scheme could set a precedent, not only here but in other national parks, if approved.