SPECULATION had been growing that the government was going to pour cold water over plans for a massive offshore wind farm in the Solent.

Now we know that the so-called Navitus Bay project is officially a dead duck.

Ministers have aligned themselves with the vast majority of people living in this area by concluding that the giant turbines would cause more harm than good.

One of the principal reasons was their effect on the beautiful landscape of the south coast, which has attracted countless tourists for hundreds of years.

The announcement was greeted with some relief and plenty of celebration from triumphant opponents.

In truth the people behind Navitus Bay had delivered a near fatal blow with their own survey that predicted a 20 per cent drop in visitor numbers if the plan went ahead.

To an area like the New Forest, not to mention the Isle of Wight and Bournemouth, this could have been catastrophic consequences for business and jobs.

It would have also meant trouble for the Solent’s thriving sailing and boating sectors.

Green campaigners have been quick to point out that the scheme would have created hundreds of jobs and questioned whether this might leave the south open to other forms of energy extraction such as fracking and oil wells.

So after five years and hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on all sides, we almost certainly have more expensive battles on the horizon.