A wind turbine has been built on a farm in Shropshire, despite it not complying with government guidelines.

Shropshire Councils north planning committee voted to approve the plans for Sandy Lane Farm in Prees, near Whitchurch. The application for the 23.8m Eocycle wind turbine, with a 31.6m blade tip, was welcomed by members of the committee, with members saying the positives outweighed the negatives.

No objections were lodged and planning officers did not identify any potential problems, but government policy meant it had been recommended for refusal.

But Councillor Pauline Dee, member for Wem, said at the time: We should be doing all we can for our farmers and this is a good scheme that would have no negative impact on neighbouring properties or buildings and the energy produced would be used on the farm. Just because we dont yet have the government policy in place should not mean this positive application is refused. The site visit was so valuable because we could see for ourselves that it wont have a negative impact on anybody else.

Councillor Paul Wynn, for Prees, added: Nobody has a problem with the application and it is strongly supported by the parish council. We should be supporting this local business. It will produce renewable energy and that will go back into supporting the farm. There has been no objections and indeed there has been some support.

Farm owner Anthony Ford added: This will help my business and the employment of three staff members. It will help out a dairy farm in tough times. We have got to do more in the industry to use generate renewable energy and this will be a massive help. We have had nothing but positive feedback.

The plan was given unanimous approval by the committee. The turbine was installed as planned in 2019, sited towards the eastern side of a field, approximately 400 metres to the south-west of the farm buildings.