Our response to Calder Energy Park’s plans at Walshaw Moor

Walshaw Moor sits directly beyond Hardcastle Crags and having monitored progress of CEPs plans in recent years, and commenting previously to the developer, our response recognised the need for green energy solutions but that it should not be at the expense of harm to the natural environment, habitats and species. Read on to find out more about our response to Calderdale Energy Park as part of their formal consultation.

 

Our response

As an advocate for green energy, we support the ambition of the plans, but not at the cost of the places that people value most. Harm to nature must be avoided wherever possible, not merely mitigated or offset.  

We believe that the current proposals would harm biodiversity and fragile habitats, leading to declines in species and the quality of this irreplaceable environment. The moorland also provides access to several public rights of way, national trails, and is a valued recreational resource for local urban communities and visitors coming to the area.  

CEPs proposals would lead to an increased risk to our protected landscapes and heritage, long-term environmental degradation, and a significant loss of public value and community benefit.  

The priority for this site should be its invaluable contribution it provides for nature and people in the South Pennines.  

Our key concerns

In viewing the proposals from CEP, we recognise the need for green energy solutions but firmly believe that it should not be at the expense of harm to the natural environment, habitats and species that live on Walshaw Moor. Our response to them was based on the following key areas: 

 

• Impact on deep peat: Peat is one of most important natural resources in the mitigation against climate change, storing carbon.  There is no demonstrable evidence that this project avoids the deep peat that dominates the Walshaw Moor landscape – and therefore fails to comply with government national policy.  

• Loss of habitats: The development would result in a range of unacceptable impacts, including loss of, and risks to irreplaceable habitats and species of the South Pennine Moors SAC and SSSI.    

• There would also be significant adverse effects for ornithology at an international scale for the South Pennine Moors SPA, and at a national scale for the South Pennine Moors SSSI.   

• Lack of hydrological information: The absence of hydrological information to understand flood risk and impacts on watercourses, particularly the smaller watercourses where headwater streams in northern England have a high degree of naturalness.   

• Loss of recreation: The significant harm to the recreational resource of Walshaw Moor for the nearby urban populations, arising from changes to landscape character with related health and well-being impacts which cannot be mitigated.  

• Cultural and economic impact: Insufficient assessment on the impacts to cultural heritage and on the visitor economy of the area.       

• Lack of exploration of alternative sites: The proposals demonstrated a complete absence of reasonable alternatives that have been examined as alternatives to Walshaw Moor.  

• Lack of Mitigation: No detail of the proposed habitat mitigation and compensation strategy.    

As Hardcastle Crags sits adjacent to Walshaw Moor, we feel it too would be impacted significantly by the development through: 

• Hydrology; flood risk, water quality and flows relating to Hebden Water, Hardcastle Crags, Gibson Mill complex and on the local wildlife, designated woodland and ancient grasslands.  

• Landscape and visual impacts and heritage impacts on the setting of Gibson Mill from within the complex and within the wider Hardcastle Crags estate. 

• Construction impacts for visitors and on their experience of place as an accredited ‘woodland of Sanctuary’ under the City of Sanctuary scheme. 

 

Read our consultation response in full here.