STOP CALDERDALE ENERGY PARK
Top Withens | Andrew Fowler
Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Windfarm was formed in 2024 as a coalition group to bring South Pennines-based campaigners together to prevent the construction of a huge wind farm on Walshaw Moor between Top Withens (aka Wuthering Heights), Pecket Well and Widdop. The developers have now changed the name of the wind farm to Calderdale Energy Park.
Wind farms are an important and necessary part of the transition to green energy. But they must be in the right place, and highly protected, carbon storing peatland is NOT the right place.
There’s an excellent study by Exeter University and Friends of the Earth which identifies potential wind farm sites which are not on protected peatland.
400,000 tonnes of aggregate coming through the dales?
If you live on the route Horton-in-Ribblesdale -Settle – Long Preston-Coniston Cold-Gargrave-Broughton-Earby-Kelbrook-Foulridge-Laneshawbridge, this is an important read as this is a potential delivery route for 400,000 tonnes of granite being brought to the rail head at Horton-in Ribblesdale and than exported by HGVs to the wind farm site.
merchandise
STRONGER TOGETHER’S RESPONSE TO THE CEP PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REPORT
The Stronger Together coalition has been working hard for the past few weeks formulating our response to the massive PEIR provided by Calderdale Energy Park as part of the public consultation process.
The photograph to the right is the PEIR – every folder on this table is a single chapter.
It’s a no from us: responses to CEP’s public consultation
Here are some of the responses to the CEP public consultation.
A Parliamentary Perspective
Robbie Moore MP explains why he believes the proposal should not proceed, outlining concerns over protected peatland, biodiversity, heritage, flooding and local communities
Calderdale Council’s Response
The Council’s comprehensive consultation response examines planning, transport, ecology, heritage and concerns that consultees were not provided with sufficient information.
Wildlife at the Heart of the Debate
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust outlines its concerns for internationally important habitats, peatland restoration and the long-term health of the South Pennine Moors.
A Landscape Worth Protecting
Read the National Trust’s response explaining why Walshaw Moor’s nationally important landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage deserve long-term protection.
Bradford Council’s Assessment
Bradford Council sets out a detailed technical review, highlighting shortcomings in the consultation process, environmental evidence and cross-boundary impacts.
Planning with Nature in Mind
CPRE supports renewable energy while explaining why developments of this scale should avoid nationally important countryside and protected landscapes.
Protecting the Brontë Landscape
Discover why the Brontë Society believes the proposal threatens one of Britain’s most celebrated literary landscapes and questions the assessment of its heritage significance.
The Invertebrate Conservation View
Buglife explains why nationally protected habitats and internationally important invertebrate species should be a red line for development.
The Evidence Library
This comprehensive technical submission reviews the proposal chapter by chapter, challenging the environmental evidence, site selection, transport, heritage and ecological assessments.
Pendle Borough Council’s Position
Pendle Borough Council considers the likely impacts beyond Calderdale, including landscape, highways, noise and environmental effects on neighbouring communities.
Colne’s Case Against the Proposal
Colne Town Council examines the potential effects on transport, tourism, heritage, public health and the practical challenges of constructing the development.
Standing Up for Walshaw Moor
Cross Roads Parish Council supports renewable energy in principle but argues this internationally important peatland is the wrong place for development.
Renewables – But Not Here
Trawden Forest Parish Council supports clean energy while arguing this proposal places nationally protected habitats, peatland and neighbouring communities at unnecessary risk.
A Neighbouring Community Responds
Foulridge Parish Council questions whether the environmental costs, traffic impacts and loss of protected habitat outweigh the claimed benefits of the scheme.
Community Concerns in Focus
Lidgett & Beyond presents a detailed community response examining consultation, construction logistics, environmental impacts and the implications for Colne and Laneshaw Bridge.
Gateway Community Concerns
Laneshaw Bridge Parish Council explains why construction traffic, transport impacts and cumulative effects could disproportionately affect the village.
OUR NEW FLY-THROUGH
Harry Williams, BSc (Hons) Games Design student, 3D Visualisation & Asset Creation, Creative Technologies, Northern Film School Leeds Beckett University.
OUR LATEST PRESENTATION
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Latest News
Yet more mistakes by CEP spotted by us
From Nick MacKinnon (Editor) WTRG Upper Heights Farm, Stanbury, BD22 0HH 01535 649359 nipmackinnon@gmail.com To: Christian Egal (Project Director); Christopher Wilson (Executive Chair); Ghazi Osman (Director of CWF Ltd) Katherine King (Planning Inspectorate) Material...
CEP say “it’s not your job to check the PEIR” – Nick MacKinnon says “ I have to check it because you don’t”
The other day, ST campaigner Nick MacKinnon was working on producing a fairly specialised map of the proposed wind farm site for use in advising a statutory consultee. This is bread and butter for Nick and he set out on what he thought would be a pretty mundane task....
This is what Top Withins will look like
In their Preliminary Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) Calderdale Energy Park have thoughtfully provided us with an image of how the landscape at Top Withins (widely believed to be the inspiration for the location of Wuthering Heights in Emily Brontë's novel of that...
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CALDERDALE ENERGY PARK, AKA CALDERDALE WIND FARM
First of all, it’s not a park and it’s not a farm. It’s a massive industrial complex which will destroy one of the country’s most protected moors. The site on Walshaw Moor is 2352ha/9 square miles of peatland, blanket bog and acid grassland.
Even after so-called public consultations from the developers, Calderdale Energy Park (CEP) we can only offer educated guesses for some of what follows.
At the moment – and we can’t be certain this is what the planning application will end up with – CEP are proposing to put 41 turbines, each 200m high and with a rotor diameter of about 170m on Walshaw Moor.
CEP have now issued their new Scoping Report – the next stage in the planning process – which you can read here: SCOPING REPORT
Stronger Together are formulating their response to this and will post it here before the deadline of 29 September.
All these turbines will be lit at night.
There will be at least one Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capable of storing at least 100MW hours and an electricity sub-station.
There will be aggregate-surfaced tracks snaking across the moor to each turbine. These will be at least 6m wide and will have ditches on either side. Cable trenches will connect each turbine to the substation. Each of the 41 turbines will have a massive concrete foundation and a concrete crane pad.
The entrance to the site will either be off the A6033 Oxenhope-Hebden Bridge road, or off Lancashire Moor Road/Two Laws Road between Laneshawbridge and Watersheddles reservoir.
Introduction by Worth Valley Against Calderdale Windfarm
Special Protection Area (SPA)
Walshaw Moor is at the centre of the South Pennines Moors SPA Phase 2 designated because of its large numbers of protected breeding birds such as Curlew, Lapwing, and Skylark, and for important numbers of Golden Plover and Merlin.
Read more…
By Walshaw Turbines Research Group and Upper Calderdale Wildlife Network
Special Area of Conservation (SAC)
Walshaw Moor is designated as a Special Area of Conservation, mainly as a peatland. Peat stores more carbon than the rest of the world’s vegetation put together. Natural England and the Walshaw Moor Estate’s 2018-2042 agreement to increase the extent and quality of active bog.
Read more…
By Walshaw Turbines Research Group and Forus Tree
Planning and decision making
In April 2025, Calderdale Wind Farm rebranded itself as Calderdale Energy Park (CEP) and became one of the first wind farms in England to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) using the new Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects planning process.
Read more…
‘Planning and Decision Making’ by Ban the Burn
How will CEP be built?
The aggregate for the concrete must be imported from outside West Yorkshire. All concrete is strongly alkaline and the foundation must be protected by a membrane. This would eventually fail as the acid peat would react with the steel and concrete. The blanket bog will be poisoned by iron sulphate, sold as moss killer in garden centres.
By Walshaw Turbines Research Group
Nick MacKinnon's Substack
You can read all Nick’s amusing and informative blogs from 2023 onwards here:
The scoping report and our response to it
Lapwings on Walshaw Moor | Kate Haselgrave 2025
FIND OUT MORE
8 Campaign Groups
Standing together with the support of national bodies to protect Walshaw Moor
Informative and factual, we look at the landscape, its history and the negative impact a wind farm will have on this heavily protected site.
FELLOW CAMPAIGN GROUPS' WEBSITES
Ban the Burn have been fighting to save Walshaw Moor since 2023 and their information about peat, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the planning process is well worth taking a look at. Stop Calderdale Wind Farm’s website also contains lots of relevant information, just follow the links via the buttons below.
The image above envisions how the site will appear from Cock Hill on Oxenhope Moor.
WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?
This video, and the image above, were created by a globally-renowned expert in envisioning for the wind farm industry, using the exact coordinates and dimensions of the turbines. Please note that it was made using the ORIGINAL site layout of 65 turbines. The number of turbines proposed is now 41 – but this gives an idea of scale. All the turbines will be lit at night.
STOP CALDERDALE ENERGY PARK
How You Can Help
GETTING INVOLVED
Speak Out
Share your thoughts with your communities at home and online. Attend meetings.
Contact a member of the House of Lords.
Write to Ed Miliband, current Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary.State@energysecurity.gov.uk and tell them that there is no need to build wind farms on protected peatland.
Stronger Together
You are welcome to join our campaign group and add your voice and vote to the many - The Calderdale Windfarm Action Group is the main Facebook group representing all of the eight campaign groups of Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Windfarm.
We'd love to have you on board with us.
Media Enquiries
For interviews and press/media enquiries please contact:
Lydia MacKinnon - 07766 333114
Penny Price - 07771 737274
QUICK LINKS
Read All About It
OUR GROUPS
The Boggarts
Calderdale Trades Union Council
Calderdale Windfarm Action Group
For Peat's Sake
Forus Tree
Upper Calderdale Wildlife Network
Walshaw Turbines Research Group
Worth Valley Against Calderdale Wind Farm