Following a packed public meeting in Newsham yesterday, local action groups are mobilising against the proposed Hope Moor Wind Farm. Richmond and Northallerton MP Rishi Sunak has thrown his full weight behind the opposition, branding the plan to build 23 massive, 200-meter-high turbines near the Stang Forest as a "serious threat" to the landscape of Swaledale and Wensleydale. Sunak is raising major concerns over the destruction of precious upland peatlands and the visual blight on the newly launched Coast to Coast National Trail. The developer, Fred. Olsen Renewables claims the site will power 135,000 homes, but locals are calling it the "total industrialisation" of the skyline. The next major face-to-face consultation event is slated for Reeth this coming Thursday.
Source: Rishi Sunak