Outrage in the moors

Bradford council has succumbed to the pressures of  Banks Renewables and has granted a permission to build the monitoring wind mast:
Bradford Council Minutes (Shipley Area Planning) (pages 30-38):

The proposal is not considered to impact on the already vertically interrupted form of the local landscape. The proposed mast would be a temporary structure and consequently there would be no damage to the landscape character in the long term. The proposal has been considered in relation to policies UR2, UR3, D1, GB1, NR12, NR13, NE10, NR17A, NE3 and NE3A and is considered acceptable.

The Telegraph & Argus:

An energy firm has claimed a victory in the first battle to build a wind farm on “one of the world’s most famous landscapes” on moorland in Bronte country.
Bradford Council today allowed developers Banks Renewables to build a 200ft wind monitoring mast, which is expected to pave the way for a “devastating” wind farm of four 330ft turbines on Thornton Moor, Denholme.
Councillors gave the scheme the green light despite huge opposition from campaigners and the Brontë Society, who said the structure would “deface” views across the “culturally and historically significant” moorland. (Marc Meneaud)

The Guardian:

Had the Brontë sisters been alive today, campaigners claim they would have been horrified by the plans to build giant wind turbines on the bleak and brooding moors that inspired their enduringly popular fiction.
But campaigners who want to prevent the development are regrouping after losing the first stage of their fight to oppose four wind turbines on Thornton Moor, west of Bradford. Planning permission was granted on Wednesday to house a 200ft high wind monitoring mast on the site, a move that they fear will pave the way for future approval of the turbines.
Residents had hoped they would be able to prevent the development going ahead by lobbying councillors during the meeting in Shipley, west Yorkshire. Outside the meeting, they held up placards which said: "Saying No to the Turbines."
Thornton Moor is close to the famous parsonage at Howarth, where the Brontë sisters lived with their family, and where their father was the village clergyman. It's now preserved as a museum, which attracts tourists from all over the world who are fans of the Brontë's work and retrace their steps on the moors.
The influence of the landscape can be witnessed throughout the Brontë sisters' work - notably Emily's Wuthering Heights with its dramatic scenes on the moors in appalling weather. The Brontë Way footpath also runs straight across Thornton Moor.
Banks Renewables wants to build turbines next to the route of the footpath. The mast is part of process of assessing the suitability of the site.
Anthea Orchard, who lives in nearby Denholm Gate and is the chair of the Thornton Moor Windfarm Action Group, said: "We've got to dust ourselves down, re-group and start again. We submitted our case but they voted against us four to two."
She said: "This is just the start. I think they will put the mast up in the next few weeks. We can now start for preparing for the full application. While this is a temporary mast, it will inevitably lead to the construction of something much larger, permanent and devastating for this community." (Helen Carter)

Financial Times:

After a day of discussion and loud protests, Bradford councillors on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to one of the more contentious wind power projects in recent months: a 60m-high test mast on a West Yorkshire moor near the former home of the Bronte sisters.
Said to be the inspiration for Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, depending on how much wind the mast at Thornton Moor detects, the landscape could shortly have a new addition: four large wind turbines. Local campaigners say that will be a disaster for local tourism and national heritage alike. (Pilita Clark)

The Brontë Society has issued a press release:

The Brontë Society is very disappointed with the decision to grant planning permission to Banks Renewables for a 60m wind mast on Thornton Moor.
The Society feels that this decision demonstrates a regrettable lack of consideration for a heritage landscape which is unique, as well as a complete disregard for the negative impact which this will have upon the environment and the local economy. Although the wind mast itself will be in place for a limited period, after which the mast will be removed, the structure will, for that period of time, be visible from the Haworth moorlands, and is likely to be followed up with four enormous turbines. The Brontë Society feels there should be no further pollution of the skyline and regrets the erection of this structure which, even if of a temporary nature, has implications for the future permanent defacement of the views from the Haworth moorlands. Haworth and its moorlands have international cultural and historical significance and any proposals which have an adverse impact on this significance are to be disapproved of.

Chairman of The Brontë Society Council, Sally McDonald, said;

‘’These moorlands inspired and are reflected in the writings of the Brontës especially Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The wild and beautiful moorland is a significant part of the Brontë story. Interest in the lives and works of the Brontës brings thousands of visitors to Haworth and Yorkshire year in year out. Erecting a substantial wind mast and still more so four huge turbines three years from now will change the character of this moorland forever.’’

In recent weeks The Brontë Society has received an overwhelming level of interest and support from all over the world and wishes to express gratitude for this and to reaffirm its commitment to Haworth’s cultural and historical significance.