Rooley Moor wind farm plans scaled back

Coronation Power’s plans for a wind farm on Rooley Moor, north of Rochdale

Coronation Power has dropped five turbines from its original plan of 17 turbines that was announced in February of this year. A planning application for a smaller 12 turbine scheme is now likely to be submitted to Rochdale and Rossendale Councils.

Coronation Power’s decision to reduce the number of turbines is a response to issues raised by local people, in particular those living in the Prickshaw/Broadley Fold, Whitworth, Catley Lane Head and Broadfield areas, and also follows further dialogue with local council planning officers. The lower number of turbines will reduce the scheme’s visual impact whilst increasing the distance away from the nearest group of houses to about 1.5kms. The revised layout will also help the scheme’s visual integration with the existing Scout Moor Wind Farm.

As well as reducing the number of turbines, the revised layout means that there will be at least 170 metres between each of the turbines and the Pennine Bridleway. To further address comments made by the local riding community, additional studies are being undertaken by Coronation Power to enhance the bridleways across the site to enable greater equestrian access both during the scheme’s construction and its eventual operation.

Conscious of the local historical significance and amenity value of Rooley Moor Road, which is to be used to access the wind farm site, Coronation Power is considering ways to protect it, and in particular the road’s cobbled parts. During the construction phase, Coronation Power will seek to avoid the road where practical and give special attention to the environmental constraints and the users of the moor. All works will be temporary and once the construction is finished the road will be restored to its current state. The use of Rooley Moor Road remains the most viable option to safely access the site.

Vickram Mirchandani, Managing Director of Coronation Power said: “We have listened to people’s views and made some significant changes to our plans. We are willing to receive further comments from interested parties as we still have some further work to do before we finalise and submit our application.”

If the scheme is approved and built, a £2m community fund will be established to support local initiatives in the vicinity of the wind farm, potentially in the fields of education and environment.

The wind farm would generate power for around 20,000 homes in the North West.

Coronation Power is aiming to submit its planning applications to Rochdale Council and Rossendale Council within the next four-six weeks.