THE planning team of a Yorkshire wind turbine specialist is celebrating after securing consent for three separate farm-scale installations worth more than £1 million in just one week.

Earthmill, which has grown from a one-man operation that started in managing director Steve Milner’s garage in 2009, now employs 34 people at its head office in Wetherby, has now installed more than 200 small scale turbines during the last six years.

The latest trio of turbines to be given the go-ahead are in Keighley in West Yorkshire, St Stephen in Cornwall and Kendal on the edge of the Lake District.

Sam Dewar, senior planner at Earthmill said: "There is a growing recognition of the important role played by the small-scale wind turbines that are being installed across the country, both in terms of the contribution they make in reducing the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels, but also the opportunity they offer farmers to diversify and gain a valuable, and sustainable additional income stream.

"Although relatively small farm-scale turbines are embraced by many people, the journey to successfully gaining planning consent to install a turbine can be a long and arduous one and it’s essential to have an experienced team on your side."

Earthmill’s three latest turbines to be given consent encountered a variety of obstacles along the way, including a lengthy public consultation process in Cornwall that saw more than 50 emails and telephone conversations exchanged with the local residents, parish council, ward councillor and the local school.