Hope Moor Wind Farm: Battle lines are drawn

Consultation over the Hope Moor Wind Farm is underway – and supporters and critics alike are urging the community to make its voice heard.

A packed meeting of the Hope Moor Action Group at The Witham on Tuesday evening rallied behind Cllr Chris Foote-Wood’s call to “stop this monstrosity”.

Upper Teesdale councillor Richard Bell, whose ward includes part of the Hope Moor site, described plans for 23 turbines standing 200m high across 1,100 hectares as “the wrong development in the wrong place”.

“There is lots of derelict industrial land on Teesside which is closer to the people who will be using the power it generates.”

Fellow couty councillor Jill Campbell lamented the potential destruction of “one of England’s last remaining wildernesses”.

“[Hope Moor] is unique for its wildness, remoteness and tranquility. It would not just be a loss to Durham but to the rest of the country if this development takes place. Let’s hope that this is not ignored.”

Speakers from the action group, led by Suzy and Tim Wilson, gave detailed presentations to explain their fears about the impact of the development on land between Barningham, Newsham and Reeth.

These include:

• The industrialisation of a rural landscape;
• Environmental damage to rare and valuable peatland;
• Traffic chaos, particularly around Newsham;
• Irreparable damage to the visual landscape, and
• Potential “mission creep” after a similar scheme in Scotland grew from 22 to a projected 68 turbines.

“If the development goes ahead, these towering structure will dominate views for miles around, overshadowing the natural beauty of the area,” said Mrs Wilson.

“They will blight heritage landmarks and forever change the rural character that defines our countryside.

“This construction work is enormous, unimaginable. Please do not take your landscape for granted; save it for future generations.”

The day after almost 200 people packed the Action Group meeting, The Witham hosted a drop in with key staff from Fred Olsen Renewables, the company behind the wind farm proposal.

Senior project manager Kelly Wyness said there had been positive engagement from the community so far – and called for more.

“The feedback has been positive in the sense that it’s been quite balanced,” he said. “Even the opposition has generally been respectful.

“We’re here to listen to the communities and take on board feedback to help the project evolve. That respectful opening dialogue is always appreciated.

“If there’s an ask from us, it’s for people to engage in the consultation process and provide feedback. This is the first stage of consultation, there’s a second stage later this year.

“There will be more detail there. We will go away and continue the surveys, continue the studies, reflect on the feedback we received.

“What we are really asking for at this point is for people to engage and provide that feedback.”

Feedback can be delivered in person at public information events organised by Fred Olsen.

At present there are two events still on the schedule, in Newsham Village Hall on June 4 (3pm-8pm) and Reeth Memorial Hall on June 6 (10am-3pm).

There is also an online feedback form at the developer’s website which can be filled in up to June 30 at hopemoor.co.uk/share-your-views/