At a planning meeting on Monday they voted 10-2 to lodge a formal objection with the Scottish Government over plans for 30 turbines at Wester Dodd on a site straddling the border with East Lothian.

At a height of 145m the turbines would be the highest ever seen in the region (each just 13m less than the height of Blackpool Tower, which is 158m high).

It will be the Scottish Government who ultimately decide on whether or not the extension to the existing Aikengall/Wester Dod wind farm can go ahead but if any of the formal consultees, of which Scottish Borders Council is one, object then a public inquiry is likely to follow before a decision is reached.

Determination of the application rests with Scottish ministers because the generating capacity of the proposal is 108MW, and the same ministers have set a national target of achieving 40per cent of all electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

East Lothian Council has already debated the issue and decided not to tender any objections to the wind farm extension.

And SBC's planning officers recommended a similar response, senior planning officer Ian Aikman saying that on balance "the erection of 30 turbines would cause an acceptable level of impact on the landscape quality of the Lammermuir Hills Area of Great Landscape Value."

"Taking into consideration the change to the AGVL landscape already imposed by adjacent wind farms, the current development could be accommodated without undue harm to the wider landscape," added Mr Aikman.

However, the majority of members at Monday's planning meeting, led by Mid Berwickshire Tory Councillor Trevor Jones, felt differently.

"What we are being told is that because we have already made a mess of this area by granting permission for two wind farms (Crystal Rig to the west and Black Hill to the south) then the effect on the landscape will be minimised," said Councillor Jones. "Clearly the landscape is not what is was before, but that is of our own doing."

Mr Jones then cited SBC's structure plan policy on AGLVs which stated: "We will seek to safeguard landscape quality...and ensure adequate protection against inappropriate development".

"To imagine that turbines nearly 150 metres high – nearly three times higher than some in the region – would be consistent with that policy beggars belief," said Mr Jones, generating a wave of applause from the public benches. "If any wind farm development warrants a public inquiry it is this one."

Altogether Councillor Jones argued that the application contravened five of the council's own planning policies.

Hawick councillor Ron Smith (Lib Dem) agreed. "This is the point where we have to judge if we have reached saturation point (in the Lammermuirs) and now is the time to put down a marker that enough is enough," said Mr Smith.

"It might be considered fair enough to have wind farms alongside busy roads like the A68, but in a remote area like this, there is no doubt this will have a major adverse impact."

Councillor Nicholas Watson (Borders Party) referred to a site visit made by most members of the committee the previous week. "This represents a major step change because the turbines are on higher ground and will be extremely unwelcome, having a massive impact on the AGLV."

The decision by Borders councillors to object to the wind farm extension was greeted with relief by local people who have long been arguing that the Lammermuirs have reached saturation point.

"Clearly the community council is delighted at just what a robust message the council gave, that not only were the highest turbines in Scotland entirely inappropriate on this elevated site, but that they agreed with the community council's long-held view that the Lammermuirs are at saturation point for windfarms," said vice chairman Mark Rowley.

"For the members of the local community who travelled to St Boswells for the debate it was heartening for them to hear from so many councillors how special this landscape is and how it deserves (and requires) their protection. Clearly a recent site visit, enabling them to see the Lammermuirs at first hand, helped some councillors appreciate the importance of this particular part of the Borders landscape and the devastation turbines can cause.

"The community council has always argued that only a Public Inquiry would give the full and open scrutiny that such a massive scheme requires. We hope that this result sends the strong message to developers that there is not an automatic green light for wind farms in the Borders and we look forward to working alongside the council at that inquiry."

Speaking after the meeting Councillor Jones said: "The idea is that if the application is objected to it has to go to inquiry and almost without exception we said that we would prefer it to go to an inquiry.

"It's about time we put a line in the sand.

"I'm not against renewables it's more a case of right place, right scale and they have got the balance wrong."

Meanwhile a decision is still awaited on North British Windpower's application for a 48 turbine wind farm at Fallago Rig in the west Lammermuirs.

Scottish Borders Council had turned down the application and when their decision was sent to Scottish Ministers a public inquiry was ordered.

The public inquiry took place in February 2008 but the recommendations were only published in November 2009.

At the initial inquiry the Ministry of Defence objected to the application but behind the scenes discussions led to them withdrawing their objections in July last year. In October last year the Scottish Government agreed to re-open the inquiry.

When the Reporter's findings were finally made public they revealed she had recommended refusal but only because of the MoD objections and it was initially suggested that the re-opened inquiry should only hear the MoD evidence. However, local pressure, based on the cumulative effect, which had changed during the two years since the initial inquiry, led to an agreement to hear other evidence at the re-opening.

A Government spokesman said this week that they were "awaiting further information from the applicants before setting a date" for the public inquiry.