West Yorkshire wind farm lifetime extension bid bolstered by local support

The two Parish Councils closest to the site of a West Yorkshire wind farm have given their support to plans to extend its lifespan by 15 years.

Renewable energy firm Banks Renewables is looking for an extension to the lifespan of its Hook Moor Wind Farm, which sits to the east of Leeds near the junction of the M1 and A1.

The five-turbine wind farm has been operational since the end of 2015 and was originally given permission to run for 25 years, but having carried out regular maintenance work on the wind turbines and reviewed their efficient ongoing operational performance, Banks decided to seek planning permission to extend the wind farm’s lifespan by an additional 15 years.

A planning application on the proposed extension, taking the wind farm’s lifespan to 40 years, was submitted to Leeds City Council late last year and is expected to be considered in the coming months.

In advance of this, Aberford and Micklefield Parish Councils have both written to the City Council to express their support for the application and to highlight the “positive impact” that the wind farm has had on their respective communities in terms of the renewable electricity that it generates and the funding it has provided to support local community groups.

Around £10k from its revenues is directed every year into the Hook Moor Wind Farm Community Fund, which supports community and environmental projects put forward by local voluntary groups and charities and which would also be extended for a further 15 years if the planning application is approved.

Grants totalling more than £40k have so far been made from the fund, with Banks Renewables recently temporarily relaxing its eligibility criteria to enable even more local community groups to access support from it.

Cllr Keith Dunwell of Aberford Parish Council said: “Getting funding for community projects over recent years has often been very challenging and we’ve been thrilled to bits to have access to the Hook Moor Wind Farm Fund. We’ve never had a single complaint about the operation of the wind farm, and in fact, plenty of people seem very excited when they see it!”

Cllr Jon Crossley of Micklefield Parish Council added: “The wind farm has run exactly as we’d expected, we’ve never even had the slightest moan about it and the turbines are now very much part of a landscape that’s well used by local and visiting walkers.

“It makes sense to get the most possible use out of this type of infrastructure that we can, especially when we know that the UK needs to produce more of the energy we use from our own renewable sources, and we’d therefore be happy to see Hook Moor stay in place for this additional time.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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