NO TURBINES ON THE BRONTES’ WINDY UK MOORS

Bronte heritage put before green energy in key wind turbine ruling; The literary significance of the “Bronte” moorlands has been used for the first time to curb the onslaught of wind farms, in a key victory for campaigners.

Tom Whitehead, 17 February 2013 (UK Telegraph)

“The brooding West Yorkshire countryside that inspired classics such as Wuthering Heights has been protected from plans for more turbines because of the importance of the famous sister writers…It is believed to be the first time the literary significance of an area has been put before the need for green energy…

Bradford Council has rejected plans for a 15m turbine at Hardnaze Farm, Oxenhope, Keighley, less than two miles from Haworth, where Emily, Charlotte and Anne Bronte grew up…Councillors ruled the scheme would do little to boost renewable energy – while creating a blot on Bronte Country.”

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“The area is already a focus for green energy with turbines twice the height of Nelson's Column due to replace existing ones at the Ovenden Moor Wind Farm four miles away. More than a dozen applications for turbines have been submitted to Bradford Council in the last year, on top of the Ovenden Moor redevelopment plans approved by neighbouring Calderdale Council.

“The area attracts visitors from around the world wanting to see the moorland views that inspired much of the Bronte's finest writing…Campaigners will now turn their attention to plans for four 328ft turbines flanking each side of the Brontë Way on Thornton Moor…The planning ruling said: ‘The proposed development would introduce an incongruous and widely visible vertical element into this sensitive upland landscape, whose historical and literary associations are also central to its wider economic value in tourism terms…The proposed turbine would be seen from a number of vantage points and would result in significant harm to the character of the landscape that would outweigh its limited contribution towards overall renewable energy targets’…”

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