BBA has been successful in defending the decision of Daventry District Council in refusing planning permission for proposals to erect seven 125metre high wind turbines on a former Second World War airfield near the village of Harrington in Northamptonshire. The application had been refused permission against officer advice and BBA, supported by evidence from English Heritage, presented the case on behalf of the Council. The appeal centred around a single issue of the impact on the remains of Cold War remains which exist within the appeal site. The former airbase was used to station Thor nuclear missiles and these formed part of the UK's nuclear defense at the time. Most of the remains of these sites have long since been lost but at Harrington the concrete launch pads and ancillary structures are still visible. The structures were not Listed or Scheduled but the recent changes to national guidance in PPS5 provided the basis for the objection to the proposals. PPS5 requires the impact on heritage assets to be assessed and this definition is far wider than simply looking at structures with statutory protection.

The windfarm scheme sought to erect seven large turbines, together with access roads and ancillary structures in the area immediately surrounding the former missile launch pads. The lancuh pads were erected as a group and there inter-relationship is key to their understanding. The scheme effectively ignored these features and included turbines directly between the launch pads as well as in the surrounding fields. The Inspector found that four out of the seven turbines, as well as the control building, would have an unacceptable impact on the historic setting of the site. The decision is crucial as it provides very clear guidance on the interpretation of PPS5 and the potential important features which may not be Listed, Scheduled or fall within a Conservation Area. It is important to identify these features early on in the development process in order that they can be accommodated into the design. In the case at Harrington, the former missile launch pads were not assessed properly until late on in the process by which time the layout of the windfarm had already been determined.

Nigel Ozier Managing Director of BBA who represented the Council at the Inquiry said "this is a particularly pleasing decision. The public are becoming increasingly concerned over the proliferation of windfarms in the landscape and the difficulty in preventing their development. The Harrington decision does show that it is possible to reject these schemes but that there needs to be a very specific issue on which to base such a case. The planning policies remain very positive towards windfarm development and it is extremely difficult to resist such proposals. It is satisfying, however, that the Inspector recognised the importance of the Cold War period in our history and has saved a nationally important site which played a role in the county's nuclear deterrent."

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