August 21, 2012
England

Historical society objects to Halifax wind turbine plans

Halifax Courier | www.halifaxcourier.co.uk 21 August 2012

One of the oldest literary societies in England is objecting to the bid to replace the wind turbines at Ovenden Moor in Halifax.

The Bronte Society believes the scale and location of the turbines would harm the character and appearance of the Haworth moorland.

Yorkshire Wind Power Ltd – a joint venture between E.ON Climate and Renewables and Energy Power Resources – wants to swap the 23 turbines currently at the site with nine new ones.

The new turbines would be up to 115m high and could generate up to 22.5MW of power – enough electricity to feed more than 10,717 homes.

Yorkshire Wind power says the plans would allow them to produce twice as much power with half as many turbines.

But the society says the new nine turbines would be more than twice the height and width of the ones currently in operation.

In its letter of objection it says the turbines would also have an adverse effect on tourism and the local econmy.

“The area known as Bronte Country was formerly a region whose econmoy was based mainly upon small-scale agriculture and textiles. Since the demise of the textile industry the area has become increasingly reliant on the tourism generated by its literary and heritage associations,” said the society.

It added that visitors come to see the village and countryside in which the Brontes lived and which influenced their work. They said the current wind turbines have already had an adverse effect on the visitor experience.

The planning application for the turbines was submitted last week.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/21/historical-society-objects-to-halifax-wind-turbine-plans/