A 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.”
