Moor wind farm plans breeze through appeal  

Credit:  Yorkshire Post, www.yorkshirepost.co.uk 13 December 2011 ~~

The first wind farm in the Leeds area will soon be constructed after a second appeal against its rejection was successful.

Banks Renewables, part of The Banks Group, put forward the proposals for the Hook Moor development, which will be located on agricultural land near the junction of the M1 and A1.

The five-turbine scheme will have a capacity of up to 15MW, which is enough to meet the annual electricity consumption requirements of more than 8,000 homes. Up to 30 people will work on site during the construction process.

And local companies will be able to tender for contracts worth around £2m for the balance of plant work required in the construction phase of the scheme. Banks originally put forward proposals for the Hook Moor scheme in 2008, but they were rejected by Leeds Council in 2009.

An appeal to the planning inspectorate was turned down at the end of 2010, but it was subsequently found that the criteria used to assess Banks’s appeal at this hearing were incorrect, and this decision was quashed in the High Court by agreement of all parties.

The latest inspectorate’s judgement found that the Hook Moor application was in line with both national and local planning policy and guidance.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at the Banks Group, said: “We have always believed that the Hook Moor wind farm was a well thought-out and sensibly-sited project, and are extremely pleased that the many benefits of the scheme have been recognised.”