Hope Moor windfarm meets opposition, £500k deal
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- Hope Moor windfarm proposes 20 turbines up to 200 m tall, delivering 100 MW of power enough for 81,000 homes.
- Fred. Olsen Renewables will pay the local community £500,000 a year for 30 years if the project proceeds.
- Ed Miliband has the final decision on the scheme, which is designated a nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) and will be decided by the national Planning Inspectorate rather than local councils.
- Natural England classifies the site as blanket bog, a priority carbon‑sink habitat, and locals argue that digging foundations will damage the peat and wildlife such as curlews, nightjars, black grouse and hen harriers.
- Michael Kusz built a scale‑model sculpture of a 200 m turbine to help locals visualise the proposed windfarm.
- Sir Edward Milbank – son of the late Sir Anthony Milbank – is one of the two landowners who will profit from the windfarm and his family produced a coffee‑table book showcasing the moorland’s wildlife.
- Planning history shows a 1999 high‑court rejection of a 54 m turbine proposal on the same moorland, citing serious harm to the area's special character.
Why it matters: The project promises £500,000 a year for 30 years to the local community, but residents fear loss of rare wildlife, peat carbon sinks, and visual intrusion, while the government pushes the scheme to meet its 95 % low‑carbon electricity target by 2030.
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