Plans for six giant turbines at Hockney beauty spot sparks anger
Angry villagers have hit out after an energy firm lodged plans to erect six giant wind turbines in a local beauty spot immortalised by artist David Hockney.
They say the huge 492-foot-high (149m) turbines proposed for a site which sits on Woldgate, near Burton Agnes, will ‘ruin’ the rolling landscape which inspired the artist.
The turbines form part of the previously approved Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park, which includes a solar farm and battery storage.
Hockney, who died last month aged 88, created a series of paintings of nearby Woldgate Woods which he regularly passed on the way to Bridlington.
Hockney had previously objected to wind farm proposals in the area, describing the turbines as ‘big ugly things’.
The fresh proposals, submitted by developers Ridge Clean Energy, have alarmed residents in the nearby villages.
Retired art teacher Nancy Millar, 75, who lives at Carnaby, said: “I’m a huge champion of green energy and the fight against climate change.
“It’s all a matter of placement and minimising negative impact. We all understand from its physical size and functionality the chosen location is always going to be rural, impact wildlife and alter the landscape forever. This site unfortunately pushes the impact to another level.”
According to the East Riding of Yorkshire Council planning portal the proposal is for the erection of a wind farm consisting of six turbines and one 300-foot-high (91.4m) meteorological mast inside a 5.4-hectare area.
It will also include the installation of underground cabling, transformer kiosks, construction of crane pads, access tracks, and widening of existing vehicular access.
In a planning statement report put together by David Bell Planning on behalf of Ridge Clean Energy the company says the turbines would “not result in significant adverse effect” on the area adding they are “capable of being accommodated within the host landscape”.
Locals say they will tower over the Woldgate landscape Hockney once took inspiration from.
A number of Rudston residents have also since rallied together to create the group “Keep Wind Off Woldgate”.
They have recently put in a FOI request asking for all communications between the council and Ridge Clean Energy and found in a letter to the company the council suggest the turbines will have a negative impact on the area.
Rob Booth, 58, a Rudston resident and member of campaign group Keep Wind Off Woldgate, said: “Residents are absolutely appalled that the developer has said these turbines can be ‘accommodated within the host landscape’ and would not result in significant adverse effects, when East Riding Council’s own pre-application assessment concluded precisely the opposite.
“We will continue to fight these plans and encourage everyone who values this unique destination to submit their objections.”
East Riding County Council approved the 161 acre solar farm in Spring 2024. The current plans uploaded to the local planning portal are now open for public consultation.
Richard Barker, project manager of the proposed Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park Extension, said: “The proposed Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park Extension would make a meaningful contribution to the critical need for renewable energy in the UK, to limit the effects of volatile fossil fuel costs.
“Alongside providing the equivalent annual electricity needs of approximately 24,000 East Riding homes, the 25.2MW wind extension would deliver at least £126,000 each year for the local community, totalling more than £5 million for the lifetime of the project.”
If the plans are agreed work can begin in early 2028, with construction time expected to take around eight months.
East Riding County Council said it cannot comment on an active planning application.