ON Tuesday, June 24, I attended a wind turbine planning application meeting in Hatherleigh town, a beautiful, tranquil part of the rural Central Devon constituency. A packed community hall resonated with powerful and impassioned arguments against the application. Yet I came away shocked and concerned for the residents of Hatherleigh. The numbers are staggering. In Torridge and West Devon alone there are already 95 wind turbines permitted, another 37 in planning and 19 at appeal. If all approved, this would mean more than one wind turbine to every square mile and a quarter. The Planning Officer's demeanour and responses were deeply depressing. He stuck rigidly to the 2012 planning guidelines where green energy priorities are the overriding issue. Never mind the impact on the residents, the community, the environment, the countryside, local jobs, tourism and property values. If it's not in the 2012 "material planning guidelines", no matter the merits or the amenity impact, it is ignored. The planning officials can impose anything they like, including forcing the erection of a 77m (253 feet) monstrosity within the landscape setting of an historic listed Church, as in the case of a lovely little town of Hatherleigh. Madness, truly madness. However there is a ray of hope. The Government has just gone public, announcing that the "15 per cent by 2020" renewable energy target has already been met. The central plank of the "material planning grounds" (the standard justification for the application) has been meeting renewables targets. So, this begs the question. If we have already delivered the renewable target, why do we need more wind turbines and has not the "material planning grounds" in this regard been removed or at least hugely weakened? Government needs to urgently amend the planning guidelines so that renewables targets can no longer override the genuine objections of Devon residents which are currently swept aside by green evangelism. Mel Stride, the incumbent Conservative MP, had a message read out to the meeting apologising for his absence as he was too busy in Westminster, but fully supported the residents objections. That's rich considering that, over many years now, he has sat on his hands and done nothing to stop the wind turbine juggernaut and the Government's insane energy policy. Colin Stewart UKIP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Central Devon The Garden House 20 Palace Gate Exeter