The time has come for a radical rethink of Craven’s renewable energy plans.

Once again, an application to erect replacement turbines at Chelker Reservoir, between Draughton and Addingham, has been turned down by the planners.

They ruled that not only was the harm to the landscape too great to outweigh the wider benefits of providing a renewable energy source, but that action should be considered to remove the current turbines, which are mostly defunct.

One councillor even suggested the original decision to approve the current turbines had been a mammoth mistake.

Undeniably, it is a sensitive site. It is a stone’s throw from the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and less than two miles from Bolton Abbey, a scheduled ancient monument with its 12th century Priory ruins.

And there is little doubt the proposed two 75 metre turbines – 30 metres higher than the current structures – would have been seen from miles around.

It is no wonder such influential bodies as English Heritage and the Campaign to Protect Rural England submitted robust objections to the plans – the third to be submitted by Kelda Water. But supporters say it is a missed opportunity.

There is no question that we need to reduce our carbon emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels as climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing problem. We are already experiencing unpredictable and extreme weather.

Each renewable energy source has its advantages and disadvantages, but, while the debate continues, the crisis gets ever nearer. It needs to be tackled before it is too late. Refusal of the turbine scheme does not mean the question of renewable energy will go away.