To sign the petition opposing the Calderdale Wind Farm
go to:- https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/149305262/verify?token=8UPrGHiiwn7EXj2cFAHG
Mark Metcalf
An NUJ and FWA member
To: Kate Dearden MP,
kate.dearden.mp@parliament.uk
As a Halifax voter I am writing in my role as Calderdale Trades Union Council
treasurer and delegate to STRONGER
TOGETHER – STOP CALDERDALE WIND FARM, to urge you to support our call
on the government to ban wind farms on protected peatland in England.
As you’ll know a company called Calderdale Wind Farm proposes to construct a
100MW+ wind farm on the highly protected Walshaw Moor. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0344pq9melo In
October 2024 it announced its intention to submit a Development Consent Order
application under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects planning
regulations, that it was confident the government’s planning reforms would make
possible. (The Planning Inspectorate has since told us that if they want
to do this, the developer will have to restart the scoping process and submit a
new Scoping report to them.)
The proposed onshore wind farm - the first in England to be proposed for a
peatland site - follows the Government’s decision to accelerate the
planning process for more land based wind turbines, a policy that the CTUC
would, generally, support. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3lq3ylzr0o
However, the CTUC is convinced that to allow the building of 65 wind turbines
on, as would be the case, peat bog would not only be disastrous for the
climate and biodiversity but also for many people living in the
Calder Valley. This is because of the increased flood risk from inevitable
damage to the irreplaceable blanket bog.
Peatlands are the UK’s largest natural carbon land store, and wetlands
such as Walshaw Moor blanket bog are among the most biodiverse habitats in the
world. They are also the most threatened, and are disappearing three times
faster than forests. They are essential for mitigating extreme weather events
such as storms and floods, and there are compelling climate change reasons for
restoring wetland biodiversity.
The need to preserve peat bog is something I have written about – mainly for
the Big Issue North and UNITE Landworker magazine - on many occasions over the
years. Damage to Walshaw Moor peat bog has previously been caused by heather
burning to support intensive driven grouse shooting. The effect has been to
lower the water table, causing peat to dry out, thereby releasing carbon and
stored pollutants such as heavy metals. This was identified in a 2015 study of
The Effects of Moorland Burning on the Ecohydrology of River basins
funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
Dewatering and drainage of the blanket bog to enable the wind farm’s
construction and operation would cause similar damage to the peat’s hydrology,
with a similar increased flood risk in surrounding valleys. Drying out the
blanket bog would kill off sphagnum moss and other peat-forming vegetation that
slows the flow of rainstorm runoff from the moors and reduces peak flows in the
catchment’s rivers. Destruction of the vegetation also threatens endangered
birds that depend on these highly protected habitats, that are legally required
to be restored to a favourable condition. (2019 Conservation of Habitats and
Species (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations.)
In its consultation on proposed planning reforms last autumn, the government
itself recognised that there is a case for “additional protections” for
“habitats …containing peat soils.” 90% of respondents agreed. So please will
you tell both Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net
Zero, and Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government with responsibility for the proposed planning
reforms, that you support the call for a ban on windfarms on protected peatland
in England?
Over the past two days, 33 Halifax constituents have signed the Parliamentary petition
to ban windfarms on protected peatland. And before Christmas a number
of Halifax Constituents signed letters to you about this at a stall in Calder
Valley. The letters will shortly be delivered to your constituency office.
Although your predecessor Holly Lynch never officially recognised that damage
to the Walshaw Moor peat bog worsened flooding in the Calder Valley in places
such as Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, following a
very large number of letters from her constituents she did support significant
investment in flood defences, which only recently (only just) prevented
widescale flooding in the Calder Valley. These costly flood defences could
easily be overwhelmed by any increase in peak flow due to damage to the blanket
bog from infrastructure construction.
It is clear that the government is concerned about restoring damaged peat
bogs. The Peatland Restoration policy team at DEFRA note that “England’s upland
blanket bogs, lowland fens and valley mires are places of striking natural
beauty. They are also valuable carbon dioxide stores and home to a rich variety
of rare wildlife. When in good condition, these peatlands help fight climate
change and provide wider environmental benefits.” Consequently, the Defra
Peatland Restoration policy team are working to turn the tide on peatland
degradation and drive forward progress on peatland restoration through a
collaborative, landscape-scale approach based on peatland partnerships across
England’s major peatlands areas.
https://defraenvironment.blog.gov.uk/2024/10/08/how-peatland-partnerships-are-transforming-and-restoring-degrading-landscapes-into-healthy-vibrant-peatlands/
Landscape-scale blanket bog restoration on the protected South Pennine Moors
Special Protection Area, Special Conservation Area and Site of Special
Scientific Interest is a much better way of tackling the twin climate and
nature crises than allowing for the building of the largest wind farm in
Britain on a peat bog on Walshaw Moor.
We need windfarms but not on protected peat. There is plenty of non-peat land
in England for all the wind farms that are needed for the 'green transition'.
Without the ban we’re requesting, windfarms could be built on protected
peatland across England – not just on Walshaw Moor above the Calder Valley, but
from Kielder all the way to Exmoor and Dartmoor, as well as other extensive
areas of protected peatland across Northumberland, Cumbria, Lancashire, North
Yorkshire, the Peak District, Staffordshire Moorlands, with bad consequences
for the climate and biodiversity:
- Peat
forms over thousands of years and disturbing it releases stored carbon
into the atmosphere. It cannot be replaced
- Intact
and restored peatland will continue to absorb carbon long after the life
span of a windfarm
- The
mosses which grow on peat absorb water and create hummocks which help to
prevent fast runoff and flash flooding in the valleys.
- Disturbance
of peat can also lead to peat slides which can cause structural, chemical
and ecological destruction.
- Peatland
supports various species of flora, fauna and fungi some of which are
endangered - Just like it is impossible to replace peat that has been
disturbed, it is impossible to replace these species once they’re gone.
I am therefore writing to ask you to support our call for the government
to ban wind farms on protected peatland, and to make public your
support. I am aware of a number of your constituents who feel the same. I
am more than willing to join any of them in meeting you to express our
concerns.
We are also inviting Ed Miliband to come and walk on Walshaw Moor with us to
find out what blanket bog is and does, and we would also like to invite you
too.
Many thanks,
Mark Metcalf
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