The secretary of state's decision to agree with his inspector's recommendation to refuse planning permission for seven 112m-high wind turbines at Toft Hill has been met with jubilation from opponents of the scheme.

Clare Dakin, from Duddo, and a member of ISORES (Inappropriate Siting of Renewable Energy Structures), told the Advertiser: "I'm very relieved, but do have very mixed feelings to be honest.

"To have these industrial structures there would have just wrecked the experience of visiting the stones. It would have been an insult to what the whole thing is about and the ancestors that put them there."

But Mrs Dakin expressed her sadness at the decision to allow the Barmoor development to go ahead, stating that it would 'open the gate' to future applications for wind farms in the area.

She added: "It is just sickening that north Northumberland has been designated as an area suitable for wind farms."

However, she praised planning inspector Ruth MacKenzie for her recommendations and admitted that she was in tears reading Mrs MacKenzie's report into the reasons for refusal of the Toft Hill application, having put her life on hold to fight against the application.

In her report, Mrs MacKenzie said: "My own visits to the stone circle confirmed what many others have described; this is a serene and remarkable place."

In response to arguments heard at the public inquiry into the extent of the 'setting' of the stone circle, Mrs MacKenzie said: "I find it hard to believe that those who went to the extreme efforts of erecting the stone circle 4000 years ago intended it to have a relationship with nothing more than its immediate surroundings.

"The setting, as I experienced it, includes the landscape that can be seen from all directions when standing at the stone circle."

The only reason for the refusal of the Toft Hill scheme, put forward by energy giants RWE Npower Renewables, was the 'significant adverse impact' the turbines would have on the stone circle, a scheduled ancient monument (SAM).

Both the inspector and minister agreed that all other effects on the landscape and nearby residents would be acceptable, as would the levels of noise emitted from the turbines.

In the decision letter it states: "The secretary of state agrees with the inspector's balancing of factors... Like the inspector, he considers that the harms of the Toft Hill scheme would outweigh the benefits, principally because of the significant adverse impact that the turbines would have on the setting of the Duddo Stone Circle SAM."

The inspector stated: "To my mind, the 112m turbines, even at a distance of 1.7km, would dwarf the human scale of the stones. Visitors' personal thoughts about the mystery of the stone circle would be seriously interrupted. The turbines and their rotating blades would be a distraction in the direct line of sight westwards towards the Eildon Hills.

"They would also be a distraction in northward and southward views towards the Lammermuir Hills and the Cheviots."

She concluded: "The significant adverse impact on the setting of the Duddo stone circle is, in my view, a serious detracting feature of the Toft Hill scheme, and one to which I give substantial weight.
"Landscape and visual effects, and the likelihood of noise disturbance, are matters that concern me far less."

John Ainslie, head of consents for RWE Npower Renewables said: "We are very disappointed not to have received permission for Toft Hill wind farm.

"We remain of the view that it is a high quality proposal, but we will be looking in detail at the reasons given for the refusal in order to learn any lessons."

The company has said that it is currently reviewing the decision and could not comment on whether or not the company would go to the High Court to appeal against the secretary of state's decision through a judicial review.

The original planning application was submitted by the developers in October 2006 and rejected by Berwick Borough Council's planning committee in March 2008.

This was appealed by Npower, resulting in the public inquiry in the middle of last year.