Calderdale Council slams windfarm consultation as 'inadequate'
Calderdale Energy Park has defended the consultation but has extended deadline for some residents due to 'glitch'
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re having a good week so far! The World Cup is now underway and it’s brilliant for those who aren’t too keen on sleep!
I have to admit I have dragged my backside out of bed a couple of times already for the early morning kick-offs, although I’m not too sure how long that will last!
Anyway, in today’s editions, we have calls from Calderdale Council for the consultation over a controversial windfarm to be restarted.
The authority has written to the firm behind the Walshaw Moor plans criticising the consultation, which ended last week, as ‘inadequate’.
Plus, we have a couple of nuggets - including a former Lioness - in the Calderdale Digest…
Calderdale Digest
🦁 Former Lionness Jill Scott passed through Todmorden this week as part of her epic 388-mile journey from Wembley Stadium to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
The former England international, who is now a popular pundit, took on the ‘Jill Scott’s Coming Home’ to raise money for Sport Relief.
And more than £470,000 has already been raised with the money being used to fund sports projects across the country.
Over five relentless days, Jill cycled from Wembley to Birmingham and Liverpool, completed a gruelling 38-mile ultramarathon to Manchester, battled through endless hills and driving rain on the road to Bishop Auckland, before digging deep one final time to run 28-miles on the final leg.
And after completing the challenge in front of hundres of fans at the Stadium of Light, Jill said: “My legs are numb, all my blisters have popped on the feet, my ribs are even hurting… I’m in a lot of pain.”
Here’s a video of Jill cycling through Todmorden, courtesy of Gordon Rigg’s Garden Centre.
⚽ Halifax Town have announced Sheffield Wednesday defender Mackenzie Maltby as their first summer signing.
Maltby, who has been at Wednesday since the age of seven, played twice in the Championship for the Owls last season but will make the switch to the Shay on July 1 when his current deal expires.
His previous experience comes courtesy of a loan move to Scarborough Athletic in 2024/25 where he was named the Seadogs’ young player of the year after impressing in the back line.
Meanwhile, The Shaymen have confirmed that Jevon Mills and Adam Adetoro will leave the club once their contracts expire at the end of the month.
It was thought that Adetoro, who signed in the summer of 2024, would trigger a contract extension clause but the club have now announced he is to depart.
Town kick-off their pre-season games with a match against Sheffield United on July 4 at the Shay.
Council chiefs call for windfarm consultation to be redone
By John Greenwood
Calderdale Council has issued a stinging criticism of a statutory consultation carried out over controversial proposals to build a giant windfarm on peatland above Hebden Bridge.
Calderdale Energy Park’s statutory consultation is not up to standard and should be done again, says Calderdale Council.
In an excoriating response to the Calderdale Energy Park (CEP) consultation over its plans to build to put 34 giant wind turbines on Walshaw Moor, Calderdale has requested the developer starts again.
CEP rejects the criticism and says the consultation was carried out in line with planning legislation requirements and its own statement of community consultation.
The company has already extended a deadline for some people to resubmit their responses to the consultation into early July due to a glitch.
The site is on Calderdale moorland, located between Hebden Bridge and Haworth, the village associated with the Bronte sisters, but the council will not decide whether the proposals can go ahead.
It is classed as a national infrastructure project and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will ultimately decide whether or not the application is given the green light.
Calderdale Council is an important consultee and the authority’s response to the consultation is damning.
The council’s Cabinet member for Economic Regeneration, Coun Keith Ingle and Director for Regeneration and Strategy, Shelagh O’Neill, have approved the response letter, which has been sent to CEP.
It says: “The council considers that the consultation has not been carried out on an adequate basis.
“In particular, the scale of errors, omissions and inconsistencies, coupled with the piecemeal and evolving nature of the information provided, has prevented the council from understanding the proposed development and its likely impacts, and from engaging in a meaningful and informed way.
“In these circumstances, the council formally requests that: CEP withdraws the current consultation; addresses the identified deficiencies in full, including ensuring that all environmental information is accurate, consistent and complete; and undertakes a fresh statutory consultation exercise on the basis of a stable, coherent and reliable set of materials.”
Without these steps, Calderdale does not consider that CEP “will be able to demonstrate compliance with its statutory consultation duties under the 2008 Act”, with the consequent risk that any subsequent development consent order (DCO) application will be delayed, refused acceptance or otherwise prejudiced, according to the council’s now published response.
Calderdale Council concludes: “Overall, the council is increasingly concerned and disappointed that, given the scale and potential significance of the proposed development, the consultation material does not yet demonstrate a sufficiently robust, transparent or considered assessment of its impacts on communities, the environment and valued landscapes.
“The level of detail and clarity provided in a number of key areas falls materially short of what would reasonably be expected at this stage, raising serious concerns that the scheme has not been developed with an adequate understanding of the sensitivity of its receiving environment.
“It is essential that these deficiencies are addressed through a further round of statutory consultation, informed by a materially improved and comprehensive evidence base.
“The current submission does not provide a sufficient foundation for meaningful engagement, and the council considers that affected communities and stakeholders must be given a proper opportunity to review and respond to revised proposals that fully and transparently assess environmental and social impacts.”
CEP has responded by saying it takes all feedback seriously and remains committed to “constructive and ongoing engagement” with the council, statutory consultees and local communities as the project progresses through the planning process.
The company says the statutory consultation was undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008 and CEP’s Statement of Community Consultation, and takes in Calderdale Council criticism it ignored advice not to hold the consultation through the local election period.
“The consultation period exceeded the statutory minimum to ensure sufficient time for engagement, including allowing a full 28-day period following the local elections.
“We made proactive efforts to engage with Calderdale Council ahead of and during the consultation, including offering multiple opportunities to meet with the council’s technical teams.
“The consultation was designed to provide consultees and communities with an opportunity to understand the proposed Calderdale Energy Park and to share their views.
“Consultation at this stage is an important and iterative part of the DCO process, allowing feedback to inform the final design of Calderdale Energy Park,” says CEP.
CEP addresses Calderdale’s criticism of “deficiencies” in a key Preliminary Environmental Information Report (PIER), arguing it sets out its preliminary assessment of likely significant effects and is therefore not as detailed as the Environmental Statement that will accompany a future DCO application.
The consultation has generated a significant level of engagement, having
received over 1,000 responses to date, says CEP.
“We are now carefully reviewing all responses received, including those from Calderdale Council and other statutory consultees, as we continue to develop and finalise the project ahead of submission later this year.
“We recognise the importance of keeping communities informed and engaged as the project evolves.
“As part of this, we are planning a reporting back exercise later this year to share how feedback has been considered and to provide updates on the next stage of the project,” says CEP.
The council says it does remain committed to “constructive engagement” with CEP on the scope and approach to any re-consultation, “to help ensure it is delivered effectively.”
The company says the turbines will generate enough low carbon electricity to power 198,000 homes a year.
But campaigners say the moor is not the right place for the huge windfarm, amid concerns about damage to peatland and the habitat – it is home to many birds.
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading!
I’ll be back on Wednesday morning with another edition so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Until then, have a great week!
Andrew