One of several recent applications to build a wind turbine in the Worth Valley has been thrown out because of it could put tourists off visiting Bronte Country.

The Bronte Society recently spoke out against the number of turbine planning applications being proposed for the area, which attracts tourists from around the world, eager to see the moor landscapes that inspired the sisters.

And Bradford Council planning officers held a similar view with one of these applications, a 15 metre high turbine on Bodkin Lane in Oxenhope. Submitted by David Feather, of Colton in Norwich, the application was refused after officers decided the harm it would do to the landscape outweighed the “limited” environmental benefits. And they acknowledged that the area was sensitive to change because of its literary significance.

Officers also felt the turbine could harm the area’s wildlife. It would be located just 210 metres from the South Pennine Moors Special Protection Area, described as an “internationally important” site for birds.

Christine Went, heritage and conservation officer at the Bronte Society, said: “We are delighted that Bradford Council has given sensitive consideration to this application.

“It is good they have acknowledged the importance of this heritage landscape, and internationally renowned heritage area. We’ve been arguing for some time that turbines have a negative impact on this landscape.”

Not everyone has such a negative view. Peter Finan from Haworth wrote to the T&A saying: “In my view, if people stopped looking at the turbines as a cause of financial grief to them, and started looking at them as a source of clean energy, then we’ll all benefit. What do we do when the fossil fuels run out?”

Meanwhile, an application for a 35 metre wind turbine near Denholme was submitted to Bradford Council. The Holmes and Richardson families applied to build the three bladed structure on Far Shay Farm on Brighouse and Denholme Road.