Campaigners step up wind farm fight as consultation nears closure
Plus, ANOTHER cash boost for borough as hospital gets £5.7m for urgent repairs
Hello and welcome to the weekend edition of The Calderdale Lead.
With all the wet weather about, I thought I’d bring a little sunshine on this Sunday morning, in the form of yet another cash boost for the borough.
Ahead of the spending review this week, it’s been announced that the Calderdale Royal Hospital is to receive a slice of the Government’s £750m pie that is being used to fund vital repairs.
But first, we’ve got details of how campaigners are stepping up their fight against a huge wind farm on Walshaw Moor as the deadline nears for residents to have their say. Full details are below.
So, on with the news…
Time running out to have say over controversial wind farm plans
Campaigners have this week stepped up their fight against a controversial wind farm in Calderdale as a consultation nears closure.
Hundreds of leaflets are being dropped through doors across the borough this weekend warning that the consultation - by developers Calder Wind Farm Ltd - will close on Tuesday just before midnight.
Saudi-backed Calderdale Energy Park is proposing to erect 41 wind turbines across 2,352 hectares of moorland in the Calder Valley near Hebden Bridge, making it England’s largest onshore wind farm.
There has already been a challenge by one of the groups fighting the plans, which are on land owned by Boundary Mill retail entrepreneur Richard Bannister, to postpone the consultation due to a range of issues with the materials put out by Calder Wind Farm Ltd.
A legal letter sent by Walshaw Turbined Research Group (WTRG) to the consultation – which is non-statutory, with a statutory one expected to be undertaken later – organisers Calderdale Wind Farm Limited called on the consultation to be delayed.
The campaign group has challenged the accuracy of maps used to support the proposal and argues some corrections have been needed to these and a consultation brochure had needed a correction sticker inserted by hand, which the company told campaigners were for typographical corrections.
Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Windfarm have urged residents to respond to the consultation by replying with the following:
I’ve signed the Parliamentary Petition to ban wind farms on protected peatland in England.
I’ve found it impossible to make an informed, intelligent response to the non-statutory consultation because the information the Calderdale Energy Park Project Team and Cavendish Consulting have provided is generally inaccurate, vague and confusing. And there is no information about the range of options for the wind farm and battery energy storage system that is under consideration.
Based on my own knowledge, I am aware that protected peatland like Walshaw Moor is NOT the right place for a wind farm and I reject the Calderdale Energy Park proposal in its entirety.
Campaigner Jenny Shepherd said: “The Calderdale Energy Park non-statutory consultation is undoubtedly rubbish and not fit for purpose.”
The wind farm proposals have already seen concerns raised by groups ranging from Campaign for the Protection of Rural England to the estate of the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, who was born in Mytholmroyd.
Those concerns include the potential destruction of “an internationally recognised wildlife-rich peat moorland beloved of walkers, artists and visitors”, with impacts on birds, the landscape, and possible damage to peat bogs, which hold and retain water in an area which experiences flooding.
The company counter-argues that the wind farm will bring benefits, not least in terms of renewable energy, saying it could generate enough renewable energy to power up to 286,491 homes per year and reduce national CO2 emissions by approximately 354,000 tonnes each year.
Members of the public can sign up to participate in the consultation by visiting the project website, which also includes an online feedback form.
People can also contact the project team with questions or provide feedback via email at info@calderdaleenergypark.co.uk, or by phoning 01422 702506 between 9am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday.
MP welcomes cash boost for Calderdale Royal Hospital
Halifax MP Kate Dearden has welcomed a £5.7m cash boost to carry out urgent repairs at the Calderdale Royal Hospital.
The cash is part of a £750m pot being handed to 400 hospitals across the country to tackle long-term problems such as leaky pipes, poor ventilation and electrical issues, helping to prevent thousands of cancelled operations and appointments.
Mr Dearden described the funding as ‘vital’ and ‘another step in this Government’s mission to fix the dire state of public service infrastructure we inherited from the Tories.'
Across the country, fixing the backlog of maintenance at NHS hospitals will help prevent cancellations, with services disrupted over 4,000 times in 2023/24 due to issues with poor-quality buildings.
The hospital funding package was confirmed in last year’s Autumn Budget, in which an extra £26bn was secured for the NHS by the Labour Government.
Ms Dearden said: "The Calderdale Royal Hospital is a key healthcare provider in my constituency – providing vital treatment to patients in their time of need, so I'm delighted to hear that they will be benefitting from a £5.7 million investment.
“Step by step, we are not only lifting the NHS off its knees with more appointments and more GPs, but helping to make it fit for the future with vital maintenance to help prevent cancelled appointments and operations. Lots done, and lots more to do.”
The cash for Calderdale will be used to improve the hospital both externally and internally, bringing a welcome upgrade which will help local residents benefit from better services and facilities across the health system.
That’s it for this edition!
I’m told that better weather is on the way so hopefully we see some of that before we’re back in your inboxes on Wednesday!
Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Andrew
Shame they never brought their consultation to all neighbouring parishes/districts. They dropped a few leaflets in Worsthorne but held a consultation meeting like the ones in Oxenhope, Trawden & Hebden. I attended the later.