Wind farm delay could be end of scheme - campaigners
BBCA delay to a planned wind farm in Bronte Country could spell the end of the project, campaigners have said.
Developer Calderdale Wind Farm Limited (CWFL) planned to build 34 turbines on Walshaw Moor, between Hebden Bridge and Haworth, but was forced to pause after consultations identified "a number of matters requiring further consideration".
CWFL was due to submit a Development Consent Order application for Calderdale Energy Park this month, but has now delayed the application until July 2027.
Nick Mackinnon, from Stronger Together to Stop Calderdale Wind Farm, said while the project had been forced to pause because of safety concerns around the land, the campaign was not yet over.
The developers would have needed to transport heavy machinery and turbines along a half-mile (1km) long path near Crow Hill, which has a history of bog bursts – one of which nearly killed famous 19th Century author Emily Bronte when she was six years old.
Mackinnon explained: "They knew there had been instability on Crow Hill but they had concluded it had all finished in 1824.
"That bog burst was absolutely colossal. The effects were felt in Leeds – they had to turn off the reservoir pumps at Leeds – and you could still see the peat stain in the Humber."
But Mackinnon said he believed those connected to the project were unaware there had also been a "huge bog burst" in 1989.
"It is the only place in mainland UK where bog bursts happen and they're vast," he said.
"They are between 100,000 and one million tonnes and it all comes down at the speed of pressurised water, so they're explosions," he explained.
"There's been at least eight and they're spread over two centuries."
CWFL project director Christian Egal told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was "clear that some areas need more work before we're in a position to submit".
"Taking this extra time is the right thing to do. It means we can complete the further assessments needed, refine the design and submit the most robust application possible," he said.
The company said it would share an updated project design for the turbines with stakeholders in early 2027 before lodging an application.
Up to 65 turbines were originally proposed for Calderdale Energy Park on the land near Haworth. That was reduced to 41 in April 2025 and then to 34 in February after CWFL said it had listened to residents' concerns.
CWFL said it hoped the wind farm would generate enough low carbon electricity to power 198,000 homes a year while offsetting an estimated 294,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
But Mackinnon said the site was also a "wonderland" for curlews, which were added to the Red List on the UK Conservation Status Report in 2015.
"The curlew is probably the most important bird we're trying to conserve and it's becoming extinct all over England," he said.
"Yet on Walshaw Moor it's absolutely thriving. At the Yorkshire Dales National Park you can walk all day and not hear a curlew, but if you go on Walshaw Moor in spring it can be an overwhelming experience."
Leaders from three Reform UK-controlled councils – Dan Sutherland (Calderdale), Stephen Atkinson (Lancashire) and Stephen Place (Bradford) - have previously joined forces to oppose the development.
MPs, including Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, and Josh Fenton-Glynn, Labour MP for Calder Valley, have also shared concerns.
The application will ultimately be decided by Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.