Filey Golf club plans its own wind turbine to cut costs

The turbine would be located near the clubhouse

A wind turbine almost 50ft (15m) in height could be erected at a golf club in Filey to help cut bills.

Filey Golf Club has submitted a planning application for the turbine after ruling out using solar panels to generate power.

It said it would help the club make savings amid rising costs.

In its application to North Yorkshire Council it said the proposed height was the "smallest available" without reducing its output.

"Like all business operations at present, costs are going up and revenue is stressed," the club said.

"[We] cannot respond to economic hard times by simply putting prices up - it would mean fewer people wanting or being able to play and would start a downward spiral of diminishing income."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, documents submitted by David Perkins on behalf of the club said a wind turbine had been chosen as it was considered more visually appealing.

"Many solar arrays are sited out of view as far as possible but this could not be done as all parts of the club are in use," the application states.

"A wind turbine on the other hand takes virtually no space and can be considered to be quite attractive, at least by some, and it also echoes the past with windmills and lighthouses."

A report or recommendations on the scheme have not yet been published, but pre-application advice indicated a "solid tubular mast and a fast-turning three-blade rotor was considered inappropriate".

No date has been set for planners to consider the application.