Friday, 17 April 2026
With thanks to the Stop Calderdale Wind Farm group for this update
Public Consultation on Walshaw Windfarm
It's crunch time for the Campaign against Calderdale Energy Park - Statutory Public Consultation runs until 10 June
Calderdale Energy Park has launched a 9-week Statutory Public Consultation on its proposal to build 34 huge turbines on Walshaw Moor above Hebden Bridge and Haworth. (See map below). Ignoring calls from Calderdale Council to delay the process until after the May elections, the developers announced the start of the consultation on 8 April - bang in the middle of the Easter Holidays. The deadline for responses is 10 June.
In order for the local community to fight this damaging development, it's vital that as many people as possible voice their opposition in the Statutory Consultation. This is the last opportunity for the public to have their say before CEP submits its application for a Development Consent Order to the Government later this year.
Before commenting on the scheme, people are advised to visit the Calderdale Energy Park website and read the Consultation Brochure. Those who wish to delve deeper can download a summary of the Preliminary Environmental Impact Report.
To submit feedback, either fill out the online form on the Calderdale Energy Park website or send an email.
Alternatively download and print out a feedback form from the website or write a letter and send it to FREEPOST, Calderdale Energy Park.
Calderdale Energy Park Turbine Layout, April 2026 from Calderdale Energy Park.
Consultation Events
The developers are also holding a series of Consultation Events in various locations. Although these are promotional events, they provide an opportunity to ask questions and voice objections in person. The next events are:
Saturday 18 April: Oxenhope Community Centre, Shaw Lane, Oxenhope BD22 9LH from 1pm - 5pm
Tuesday 21 April: Hebden Bridge Town Hall, St George's Street, Hebden Bridge HX7 7BY from 1pm - 7pm
Further events will be held in Trawden (9 May), Haworth (19 May) and Colne (21 May), as well as an Online Webinar (14 May). For more information, see Consultation Events.
No consultation for Wadsworth
It is worth pointing out that, although the proposed wind farm on Walshaw Moor is entirely in the Parish of Wadsworth in the Borough of Calderdale, only one of the six Consultation Events is being held in Calderdale itself and none at all in Wadsworth.
Furthermore, only households within 5 kilometres of Walshaw Moor have been sent information about the Consultation. This excludes Halifax, Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Brighouse - in other words, most of Calderdale. These oversights are little short of scandalous and are an added insult to the residents of these communities and the people of Calderdale.
Lapwing on Walshaw Moor. © Stop Calderdale Wind Farm
Wadsworth, Heptonstall and Hebden Royd all Oppose Calderdale Energy Park
The Wind Farm Surveys held by Wadsworth Parish Council last Spring and Hebden Royd Town Council last Autumn both recorded high levels of public opposition to Calderdale Energy Park, 93% and 86% respectively. Last month Heptonstall Parish Council published the results of its survey. The outcome was similar, with 94% of residents opposed to the development.
The concerns most frequently raised in Heptonstall were ecological harm to legally protected habitats and species in the South Pennines landscape; increased flood risk associated with peatland disruption; loss of cultural and recreational value; and the scale and industrial nature of the proposal.
Public Meeting in Colne
Walshaw Turbines Research Group explained how to defeat Calderdale Energy Park at recent Public Meeting in Colne
Nick MacKinnon from the Walshaw Turbines Research Group www.walshawturbines.com gave a highly informative presentation about how to defeat Calderdale Energy Park at a public meeting in Colne last Tuesday 14 April. They covered issues such as access roads and the transportation of turbine components and aggregates, as well as the importance of the peat moorland habitat and the remarkable colonies of ground-nesting birds on Walshaw Moor. Also highlighted was the wider cultural and recreational significance of Walshaw Moor and Brontë Country to the surrounding communities in Yorkshire and Lancashire. This must-watch presentation is available here on YouTube and is well worth watching in full.
Parliamentary Debate on Wind Farms on Protected Peatlands - Tuesday 21 April
Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore, who has been actively campaigning against Calderdale Energy Park, has successfully timetabled a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 21 April about Wind Farms on Protected Peatlands. As well as highlighting key environmental issues that have previously been overlooked, such as the fact that deep peat acts as a vital 'carbon sink', the debate will shine a spotlight on the controversial proposals for Calderdale Energy Park and their damaging impact on Walshaw Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.
After sitting on the fence for the last couple of years, Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn has finally stated his opposition to Calderdale Energy Park on environmental grounds. In an email to constituents on 12 April he stated, "I am increasingly persuaded that such a large development on protected peatland would be too great a cost to our natural environment, and actually detrimental to our net-zero ambitions.
"Peat plays a vital role in absorbing carbon. As has been said by Government Ministers, 'our peatlands are this country's Amazon Rainforest - home to our most precious wildlife, storing carbon and reducing flood risk.' There would be outrage if we were to fell trees in the Amazon to install solar panels, and we should be similarly concerned at the prospect of destroying peatland to install windmills with only a 35-year lifespan."
With thanks to the Stop Calderdale Wind Farm group for this update
Useful links:
- Stop Calderdale Energy Park:
- Latest proposals for Calderdale Energy Park
- Peatland Alliance response to revised Calderdale Energy Park proposal
- Walshaw Turbines Research Group
- Save and Restore Walshaw Moor
- Calderdale wind developer: Calderdale Energy Park
- Guardian: What do Saudi developers know of Heathcliff? Brontë country up in arms over windfarm plan (Jan 2024)
On the HebWeb
Walshaw Windfarm: Planning Department challenge developer's 'misleading statements' (4 March 2026)
Discussion on the HebWeb Forum
Walshaw Windfarm proposals scaled back - Turbines cut to 34
HebWeb News: Windfarm survey results: 90% against (Dec 2025)
HebWeb News: Calder Valley MP has "lost his way" on how to protect Walshaw Moor (Nov 2025)
HebWeb Forum: Windfarms on protected peatland
HebWeb Forum: Calderdale Wind Farm (May- June 2025)
HebWeb News: Legal challenge to massive windfarm proposal (June 25)
HebWeb News: Report: Walshaw Windfarm community assembly
HebWeb Forum: Large Windfarm proposal (Oct 24 - Feb 25)