A COUNCILLOR'S bid to defeat plans for a wind turbine in a Ribble Valley hamlet has failed.

Coun Kathleen Butler argued that the nine-metre wind turbine at Park Brook Farm, Copster Green, would be a danger to birds, create noise for neighbours, and be a blot on the landscape.

She said: "There is proof that wind turbines are harmful to birds and we have to consider that.

"I also think would be detrimental to visual amenity of the area.

"It isn't appropriate and would set a precedent. Solar panels attached to a house generate more energy and are more cost-effective as a result."

But Lib Dem councillors rallied against her move, with Coun John Sutcliffe saying that, despite being a member of the RSPB, he had seen no proof of danger to birds.

He added: "If this was 50metres high, maybe there would be a point on the visual impact, but this is a tiddler."

Independent councillor Jim Rogerson said: "Wind turbines don't create any more noise than the sound the wind makes on a windy day at the top of a fell. It isn't that bad."

Members of Ribble Valley's planning and development committee passed the application six votes to four.