A PUBLIC inquiry could be called after wind farm objectors nar-rowly won a battle against plans to re-power Caton Moor with larger turbines.

Lancaster city planners rejected a bid by Hainsford Energy to replace 10 turbines with eight larger ones on Caton Moor - by just one vote.

The project was refused because city councillors felt the new turbines, twice the size of the existing ones, would spoil the landscape.

Charles Rose, of Hainsford Energy, refused to comment on Tuesday - but city planners believe he may exercise his right to appeal.

"The Secretary of State may be called in and councillors on the planning committee will be expected to explain and defend their decision," says Andrew Dobson, head of planning at the city council.

He says if the decision is called in then it could go either way.

Cllr David Kerr said: "The turbines are overwhelming and don't blend in with the landscape. They are ruining the heritage of the area. The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is something we have to protect."

And a spokesman for the group FELLS - Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery - agreed it was important to protect the AONB.

Residents commented that the new turbines would be closer to their homes, which would cause more noise and devalue their properties.

But Julian Carter, of Renewables North West, said tourism would not be affected by the wind farm development, adding: "Caton Moor re-powering is part of a jigsaw of cre-ating more renewable energy, which would help Lancaster City Council meet the targets of CO2 reduction."

Afterwards, Green Party Cllr Chris Coates slammed members of the planning committee, accusing them of paying lip service to environ-mental issues.

"It seems some members of other parties are simply pretending to be concerned about the environment, but when they are faced with difficult decisions they search for any excuse to get out of making a commitment."

He said the Green Party was concerned costs would be awarded against the council when the application went to appeal.

More than 150 letters of objection were received against the scheme, which was originally rejected in September. But it came back after developers carried out an assessment of alternative sites.

The study found that re-powering Caton Moor would be the best and most economic solution to generating extra wind energy.