Killington Reservoir. Photo: Karl and Ali CC-BY-SA-2.0

Campaigners have welcomed the news that plans to build three massive wind turbines close to a national park have been dropped.

The Open Spaces Society said it was delighted that the proposals for the turbines near Killington Reservoir had been shelved.

The site, west of Sedbergh, is only 3km (2 miles) from the western boundary of the Yorkshire Dales national park and is near the gateway to the Lake District from the M6 motorway.

Banks Renewables applied for permission to erect three 433ft-high turbines at the Cumbrian site.

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, called in the application last March after South Lakeland District Council approved it, against the officer’s recommendation, in February.

The Open Spaces Society, Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunedale Scenery, the Friends of the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales Society all objected and a public inquiry was scheduled for September.

Now the Planning Inspectorate has announced that the application has been withdrawn.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said: ‘This is splendid news. The development had far-reaching, national implications.

“The site is close to the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District national parks and the whole region is immensely popular for quiet recreation.

“The 132m-high turbines would have destroyed many of the magnificent views over a wide area including that of the Howgills from the M6 motorway.

“We are relieved that the developers have backed down.”