Calderdale Energy Park: Colne Town Council to issue legal letter to developer over wind farm plans
Colne Town Council has said it intends to issue a legal letter to the developer behind the Walshaw Moor wind farm, claiming it was not consulted on large amounts of stone which could come through the town as part of the development.
The council has argued that due to local stone not being suitable to create roads and foundations for the development, the Calderdale Energy Park scheme will require huge amounts of stone to be brought in from other parts of the country.
The council believes that plans show the potential for thousands of lorry trips to come through the town each month in order to bring in enough aggregate and stone, in a move it argues could impact local quality of life for residents and potentially cause an adverse effect on local buildings.
The Council said in a recent response to the windfarm proposal that it “strongly objects to this proposed development and strongly objects to the conduct of the scoping and consultation exercises on many grounds”.
A spokesperson for the Council also confirmed to The Yorkshire Post that it now intends to issue a legal letter to the developer claiming that it has failed to adhere to the Gunning Principles, which state that there must be sufficient opportunity for groups to participate in consultation on a development.
Calderdale Energy Park claims that no decisions have yet been made on routes to bring stone and aggregate in for the development.
A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park said: “We recognise the concerns of Colne Town Council and others about the potential impacts of short-term traffic disruption during the construction process. That is why the access options for the transportation of materials to and from Walshaw Moor remain under consideration.
“No decisions have yet been made on transporting stone to Walshaw Moor. Several quarries are available across the country with different options - including rail - being explored to transport material to site.
“As the project evolves further, we will identify what measures are required to improve the local road network in advance of construction beginning. These improvements will be permanent, offering betterment to all road users well beyond the construction of Calderdale Energy Park.”
If given the go-ahead, the Calderdale Energy Park scheme will see the construction of up to 34 wind turbines on a moorland designated as a site of special scientific interest. The scheme has received criticism from a string of MPs and environmental groups, including claims that it could damage important peatland at the site and lead to increased flooding or fire risks.
For windfarms the size of the Walshaw Moor development, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of crushed rock are usually required to build infrastructure including access tracks and concrete for the wind turbine foundations.
While borrow pits – areas where rock or aggregate is extracted on a site for use elsewhere – are generally used for this purpose, those opposing the Walshaw Moor scheme including the council argue that this is not a viable option for the development.
Colne Town Council said in a recent response to developers that it believes that local aggregates at the Walshaw Moor site are too “weak and porous” for making the roadstone and concrete required for the site.
In its response, the council pointed towards a British Geological Survey for the Huddersfield area from 2005, which states: “In general, the sandstones are too weak, porous, and susceptible to frost damage for them to be used for good quality roadstone or concrete aggregate.”
A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park said: “Most of the material needed to build Calderdale Energy Park will be sourced on-site from borrow pits, to keep imported materials to a minimum.
“The design of Calderdale Energy Park deliberately seeks to maximise the use of materials from within the site boundary and keep imported materials to a minimum to limit the impact of disruption to local roads during the construction process.”
The Council has also argued that it should have been consulted earlier on potential plans for stone to be transported through Colne.
A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park said: “Colne Town Council was contacted at the start of the recent statutory consultation process and invited to review the full consultation materials in the same way as other parish councils and statutory consultees.”
The group added that Colne Council had also been part of the project’s Parish Forum, and that an in-person consultation event was recently held in Colne.