A decision on whether three 100-metre high wind turbines can be built on farmland near Gargrave should “hopefully” be made by the end of February.

The public hearing into EnergieKontor’s attempts to build a wind farm at Brightenber Hill was held over two days in May last year.

It was the second appeal to the Planning Inspectorate by the renewable energy company, which first submitted a planning application on land owned by dairy farmer Robert Metcalfe, in the summer of 2008.

Both the original scheme for five turbines and the later scheme, submitted in April, 2012, were refused permission by Craven District Council because of the impact on nearby Ash Tree Farm.

A decision has taken longer than expected following new guidance published by the Department for Communities and Local Government which then needed the responses of interested parties.