THE Government has rejected plans for a £3.5bn windfarm off the Dorset coast due to visual impact - a further blow to UK green energy industry.

On Friday, after the decision has been made public, New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne tweeted: "Yipeeeeeeeeee."

After years of controversy, the Department for Energy and Climate Change said it would not let the Navitus Bay proposals go ahead.

The scheme, which has been vigorously fought against by councils, MPs and campaign groups, would have seen up to 121 turbines sited 13 miles off the county's coast.

The Planning Inspectorate’s chief executive Simon Ridley said: “Alongside national policy and evidence of the need for the project, the views and comments from communities, particularly those near the South East coast of England who might be affected by this proposal, greatly assisted the Examining Authority in considering the overall impacts of the project.”

Roy Pointer, chairman of anti-Navitus Poole and Christchurch Bays Association, said: “We welcome the decision to refuse consent for Navitus Bay offshore wind farm and feel that common sense has prevailed.

“We are delighted that this beautiful coastline, which provides such a great deal of pleasure to visitors and is so vital to our tourism industry, has been protected from industrial threat. Great credit is due to our MPs, councils, businesses and many volunteers who worked so hard to deliver this result, which will be welcomed by the overwhelming majority of our residents.”

Stuart Grant, project director at Navitus Bay, said: “While we are clearly disappointed by today’s decision, we would like to thank the communities of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and all our stakeholders for the high level of engagement they've shown in the project, including their responses to our consultations and during the examination process.

"During the past five years the project team has carried out comprehensive stakeholder and community consultation. We will now discuss the options available with our shareholders and update stakeholders in due course.”

East Dorset Friends of the Earth coordinator Angela Pooley said: "It’s astonishing that a major clean energy scheme has been rejected on the grounds that it may harm the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

“The Jurassic Coast is not designated for its scenic value, and it is hard to see how the sight of wind turbines on the horizon on a clear day could be considered damaging to it.

"The real threats to Dorset's fragile coast come from climate change - and potentially oil and gas exploitation. Navitus Bay, which could have been the largest clean energy project in the south of England, would have played a key role in helping to counter this.

“Yet again the UK is turning its back on a major clean energy project that would have created hundreds of jobs, boosted the local economy and helped the nation to tackle climate change.”