A TEESDALE youth hostel fears it may have to close during the winter after its planning application to build a wind turbine was refused.

Langdon Beck youth hostel, at Forest-in-Teesdale, had hoped the turbine would provide it with a sustainable energy source and safeguard the hostel's future.

The wind turbine was to be the focus of an educational centre, teaching young people about sustainable energy sources. It would also have provided power for the hostel over the winter months.

Teesdale District Council development control committee voted against the development - despite planning officer's recommendations to approve it.

They turned it down on the grounds that the hostel was in the North Pennines designated area of outstanding natural beauty, and the turbine would visually mar the landscape.

Coun Phil Hughes said the wind turbine would generate about four times the electricity the hostel needed, and it could sell the excess through the National Grid.

Coun Ian Galletley said: "Any source of alternative energy at the moment must be considered carefully. However, one has to take into consideration other things. This is a private scheme and will not benefit the people of Teesdale. On the contrary, it will benefit visitors to Teesdale almost exclusively."

Langdon Beck hostel manager Mr Euan Boyd said job cuts at the hostel were now inevitable. "There is a question mark over a lot of small, rural hostels as far as year-round opening goes. We still maintain a staff presence all year and we are now the only hostel in the North Pennines to do so.

"The wind turbine proposal formed part of an environmental educational scheme which would in effect have secured the long term viability of the hostel. There is a fair chance now that the council's decision will lead to a redundancy notice here.