In this update

• The planning application is now live with both councils
• BESS recommended for approval
• Shocking Before-After Visualisations Released
• Request to lobby MPs and Councillors
• Date for your diary – Heritage Walk
• NetZero Watch Update

The planning application is now live with both councils

The planning application is now live at Rossendale with reference number 2025/0267 and at Rochdale with the reference 25/00680/FUL.

Rossendale have not yet issued a deadline for responses but Rochdale have sent out letters suggesting that the deadline is the 21st September, which is a statutory consultation period of 30 days. We complained that this was far too short a period to review over 200 detailed and highly complex documents. Rochdale have responded that they will accept objections right up to the day before the planning meeting when this application is considered. There is no date set for this meeting.

Rossendale Council have notified the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner) to assess whether this application should be called in. Interestingly, Rochdale Council have not done the same as far as we are aware but this may be related to the fact that Cubico regard Rossendale as the lead authority. We have serious concerns that neither council has the skills, funding or resources to properly assess an application of this size and complexity.

It seems that neither council has responded to Cubico’s request for feedback on their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) scoping report. This is a serious issue as councils have a statutory requirement to respond under Regulation 15 of the Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (as amended). Both the Secretary of State and the Local Authorities are allowed to request additional information during the consultation but not dealing with this issue before the application was submitted means that there could be a large amount of missing information in the application which exacerbates the difficulty of reviewing. It will be particularly hard for the public to keep track of multiple updates to the many documents that will likely occur.

BESS recommended for approval

In other news, Rossendale Development Control Committee are meeting next week, on Tuesday 2nd September (note correction as previously advertised as Wed 3rd)to make a decision about the BESS Planning Application 2024/0501. This is proposed Battery Energy Storage System on Edenfield Road which would be erected near Turn village. Not surprising, but still shocking, Rossendale planners are recommending that the application should be approved on the grounds of exceptional circumstances. Essentially, the government’s Net Zero policy is being interpreted as “any damage to the environment is a worthwhile cost to meet the arbitrary 2030 target”.

The meeting will start at 6:30pm at Futures Park on Newchurch Road, Bacup, OL13 0BB. If you are available please come along and lend weight to our objection to this application.

Shocking Before-After Visualisations Released

We have collated some of the key visualisations from the planning documents submitted by Cubico. We knew it was going to be bad, but not this bad. Click on the image above to explore the Before and After comparisons.

Request to lobby MPs and Councillors

We have continued to lobby our MPs to support our objections to Scout Moor 2. Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful, despite providing a wealth of evidence against it. It seems that both MPs will follow Net Zero policy at any cost to our landscape, environment, heritage or amenity. It seems a little more than odd that saving the planet requires so much destruction.

Many recent articles in the press have shown that the public is more aware than ever that wind energy is expensive and insecure. They are increasingly coming to understand that it requires all sorts of support mechanisms to make it viable. Once the total system costs are factored in, it becomes obvious why our energy bills are only going in one direction (see recent OFGEM announcement).

We have not given up trying to influence our MPs and Councillors and we do encourage you to write to them personally. They know that their electoral chances at the next election are looking increasingly shaky.

If you have 5 minutes please use our template letter or craft your own, to remind them that they are supposed to be serving their constituents, not a lunatic Net Zero policy at any cost.

It doesn’t have to be a long email – simply make it abundantly clear how support for Cubico is likely to play out at upcoming elections.

Date for your diary – Heritage Walk

As part of the Stone and Story events, join us on the final day of the festival, Sunday 21st September 2025, for a special gathering at “Top of Leach”. This will be a scenic walk to seek out the panoramic views across the South Pennine Moors, including Saddleworth, the Peak District, Manchester and Cheshire. If Cubico are successful then these views will be destroyed for at least a generation.

The walk will highlight the remarkable story of the Cotton Famine Road, laid by hand during the 1860s by Rochdale’s unemployed millworkers amid the American Civil War—a poignant reminder of local endurance and solidarity. At 474 metres above sea level, Top of Leach offers stirring vistas. On clear days, you may see as far as Darwen Tower and the West Pennine Moors. Skylarks and curlews may accompany you.

A Group photoshoot is planned around 12:30, weather permitting—feel free to bring a picnic to enjoy with fellow walkers.

The starting point for the 2 hour walk is Catley Lane Head, Rooley Moor Road, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, OL12 6BN.

Full details here.

NetZero Watch Update

It becomes more obvious with each day that passes that Net Zero policy is in serious trouble as this update from NetZero Watch shows.

Ofgem price cap to rise

Typical household energy bills will rise to £1,755 a year in October, putting a further squeeze on consumers as they prepare to face tax rises in the autumn. Ofgem, which sets the limit on what energy companies can charge customers, confirmed average bills will rise by 2pc later this year, which is more than the 1pc jump that had been predicted.

From the Telegraph article:

It said the 2pc rise was driven by the amount of money being spent on switching off wind farms in remote areas when the network is too congested to transport the power to where it is needed.

Coutinho: CCC’s wind costs are “misleading”

Claire Coutinho has accused the Climate Change Committee of using “unrealistic” offshore wind cost estimates in Carbon Budget 7. In a letter to CCC Chair Nigel Topping, she warns the assumptions risk misleading Parliament and inflating future energy bills. She urges urgent revisions before the vote.

It’s just a shame that the Conservative Party didn’t rein in the CCC when they were in power as their misleading advice had been obvious for many years.

Helm: it is time be honest about the costs of Net Zero

Oxford University’s Dieter Helm has warned that UK energy prices are soaring because policymakers ignore the full system costs of renewables. He calls the 2030 net zero target “deluded”, arguing it will require double the capacity for the same output and drive prices even higher.

Ørsted crisis continues

Ørsted, Britain’s largest wind operator, is in turmoil after the Trump administration halted its $4bn US wind farm, triggering a record share slump. The Danish state-backed firm, which supplies 7% of UK power, is now scrambling to raise £7bn as market confidence collapses. The company also confirmed it has pulled out of the UK’s AR7 subsidy round, citing a lack of eligible projects