As many may have read, proposals have been put forward to build what will be England’s largest onshore wind farm. 65 colossal turbines towering over the wild, beautiful landscape of Walshaw Moor on the edge of Bronte country.
On paper, it sounds like a triumph for renewable energy. But in reality, it is anything but.
Because behind the shiny headlines and government soundbites lies a proposal so environmentally reckless, so damaging to our local landscapes and heritage, that it should alarm anyone who genuinely cares about local habitats, our history and our natural environment.
First of all, Walshaw Moor is an area of national and global environmental significance. As one of the largest areas of protected peatland in England, it is an area that performs one of the most vital climate functions – storing carbon.
Peatland stores 26 times more carbon than forests in the UK and disturbing that land by ripping into it to will not only destroy that delicate ecosystem, it will release vast quantities of stored carbon straight back into the atmosphere.
There is therefore a supreme irony here that a development being hailed as an environmental triumph and progress will in fact risk unleashing a carbon bomb into the atmosphere, originating right here in our beautiful part of the world.
The developers, Calderdale Wind Farm Limited, much to the astonishment of many, seem completely unfazed by this. In fact, there is little to no clear evidence in their proposals that they have factored this monumental loss of carbon into their carbon savings calculations.
But the dangers don’t just end here. Walshaw Moor is also home to many rare and endangered bird species including the Curlew, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Merlin and Short-Eared Owl which all nest there. Building this wind farm will bring a huge amount of noise, habitat destruction which will pose a profound threat to these already fragile species.
Furthermore, Walshaw Moor serves as a natural flood defence for the Calder Valley. Walshaw Moor is largely composed of blanket bog, a special type of bog inhabited by Sphagnum moss. These moss species, of which Walshaw Moor has 10, allow the bog to absorb water and reduce rain runoff. Disturbing the land by constructing this wind farm risks killing large volumes of this moss, which prevents the bog from absorbing rainwater increasing flooding risks downstream.
The Calder Valley knows all too well the devastation that flooding can cause. Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Todmorden all have suffered repeated, catastrophic floods in recent years. Millions of pounds of public money and thousands of hours of community effort have gone into flood prevention. To now threaten all of that by tearing up the moor above these communities is an act of staggering short-sightedness that threatens the safety and protection of thousands of residents.
And finally, this development is also on the edge of historic Bronte country, the inspiration for much of the Bronte sister's literary works. Indeed, the famous tree believed to have inspired Wuthering Heights is located within the boundaries of the proposed wind farm.
The construction of wind turbines on this beautiful, pristine natural landscape would thus be a huge loss to the cultural and natural heritage of the country and deprive many tourists and local people of experiencing the same landscape that inspired the Bronte sisters.
What a tragic irony it would be if future generations were left to read about those wild moors in books, while the real landscape lies buried beneath concrete and steel.
The construction of this wind farm is expected to take at least two years, during which time some of the area’s most cherished and scenic walking routes including parts of the Pennine Way would be unusable and closed off. These routes are nationally renowned and used regularly by tourists from across Yorkshire, Lancashire and beyond. Public access may also be restricted during the decommissioning of the site.
In my view this represents a significant threat to local tourism and hospitality businesses as well the long-term stability of the local economy. But this is not just significant for the imminent two year construction period. As a wind farm, when decommissioning of these wind farms takes place in decades time, similar disruption will also be caused again.
An RSPB study has also shown there is more than enough suitable land across England to meet all onshore wind targets without building on protected peatlands. The government’s obsession with size and scale, being able to boast about the ‘biggest onshore wind farm in England’, should never come at the cost of our environment, our wildlife, or our cultural heritage.
If we are to truly defeat these proposals, we will of course need strong voices both inside and outside of Parliament and we have seen strong campaigns locally thanks to Stop Calderdale Wind Farm, Stronger Together and Worth Valley against Walshaw Moor Wind Farm.
But so far, Parliament has been relatively quiet on this issue.
That is why earlier this year, I wrote to Anna Dixon MP for Shipley, Kate Dearden (Halifax), Jonathan Hinder MP (Pendle and Clitheroe), Oliver Ryan MP (Burnley) and Josh Fenton-Glynn MP (Calder Valley) asking them to form a cross-party group with me to provide a strong voice against these proposals in Parliament.
But as of yet, I haven't recieved a single response.
So I would urge everyone to write to your local MP making sure our voices are heard loud and clear. And please continue to sign the petition to ban wind farms on protected peatlands: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701290 donate to the Stronger Together campaign: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/protect-our-peat-dont-build-wind-farms-on-it
This is not nimbyism. This is common sense. This is about environmentalism grounded in reality.
Renewable energy can be an essential part of our future, but not like this, not here, and not at the cost of everything Walshaw Moor represents and provides our ecosystem with.
For all these reasons, we must oppose the Walshaw Moor Wind Farm.
