In this update

• Urgent – please get your objection in
• Update on the drop in session in Cowpe
• Update on the Heritage Walk
• Lobby your councillors and MP

Urgent – please get your objection in

If you haven’t submitted your own application you need to get this in soon. We have provided a template object letter to give you a start but please do customise. Please subject your objection to both councils using these portal links:

• Rossendale 2025/0267
• Rochdale 25/00680/FUL

The statutory deadline is coming up shortly though the picture is confused as comments are allowed right up to determination. However, it is of course true that the earlier we get our comments in the more likely they are to have an impact.

Update on the Drop-in session in Cowpe

On Wednesday evening on the 8th October 2025 we held a drop-in session in Cowpe. The event was exceptionally well attended and many people spent over an hour finding out more about the application. We got some great feedback with only one attendee in support of the application and the vast majority deeply opposed.Far more people attended in 2 hours than we saw at Cubico open days!

Many thanks to Emily and Catherine for arranging, an amazing setup up including copious material and an informational video. We really have an exceptional bunch of people making this campaign possible.

We must also thank Rossendale Councillor Mackenzie Ritson for attending to support our campaign and Lancashire County Councillor Jo Ash for sending her husband Pete to represent her. We were also joined by Councillor Janet Whitehead (apologies no photo). All local councillors were invited, so you may want to speak to yours!

Update on the Heritage Walk

On Sunday 21st September 2025 we had a special gathering at “Top of Leach”. This was 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 highlighted 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 offered stirring vistas. On clear days, you may see as far as Darwen Tower and the West Pennine Moors. Skylarks and curlews may accompany you.

Many thanks to Alan Rawsterne for arranging the event and to our mayor Janet Emsley and her consort Ken, for joining us and wishing us off on our walk. Here’s a video capturing our morning (opens in YouTube):

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 all our MPs and most councillors will follow Net Zero policy at any cost to our landscape, environment, heritage and amenity. It is perverse 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 OFGEM announcement that the price cap is going up 2% this month).

We have not given up trying to influence them and we do encourage you to write to them personally. They know that their chances at the next election are looking increasingly shaky. According to Electoral Calculus these are the prospects for our three MPs:

• Elsie Blundell – 14% compared to Reform 86%
• Andy McNae – 18% compared to Reform 75%
• Paul Waugh – 12% compared to Reform 80%

These are extinction level figures and we argue that their uncritical support for Net Zero is a significant factor in their unpopularity. You might think this is overplaying the case but remember, as Net Zero is further rolled out, our energy gets more expensive and more jobs are destroyed.

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.

We have compiled a helpful list of email addresses for all our local councillors and MPs.

Many thanks to all those who have already written – let’s keep it up.