Protesters packed a local authority's planning meeting held in a Vale of Belvoir village close to the site of a planned wind farm.

Bottesford Village Hall was full to the brim for a meeting of Melton Borough Council's development committee on Thursday night.

More than 1,000 representations, mostly opposing the plan, have been sent in to the authority – the largest number the council has received on a single application.

The planning committee was discussing plans for eight wind turbines in the neighbouring village of Normanton by energy company, Ridgewind.

The company had already successfully appealed to the Government planning inspectorate to make a decision on the project, claiming the council had failed to reach a decision within statutory time limits.

The council claims alterations to the bid by Ridgewind caused the delays. Among 15 objectors given time to address the committee was Rutland and Melton MP Alan Duncan.

He said: "During 17 years as the local MP I have never before asked to appear before a planning committee.

"I have done so because of the extraordinary strength of feeling I sense in the local community and the intense anger everyone feels about the threatened desecration of our unique local landscape.

"The proposed location is wholly inappropriate; its scale utterly excessive and its local detriment enormous."

Other objectors spoke of the negative visual impact, the impact on tourism, the health issues of people and livestock, and noise pollution.

The committee was recommended by planning officers to refuse the application on the grounds it would have adverse effects on the historic landscape of the Vale of Belvoir.

Ridgewind project director, Ben Moore, said: "It's unfortunate that, up and down the country, vocal individuals decide to object when it comes to wind farms. They argue that they have nothing against renewable energy – but just not where they live. A lot of the reasons people came up with, such as health and noise, were spurious."

The committee voted to back the recommendation to refuse the application. A public inquiry will take place on February 9 next year.