Midlands & Yorkshire

Westfield Lane Wind Farm

Banks Developments has identified the land between Darrington and Wentbridge to the west of the A1 as a potential site for wind farm development which would be capable of delivering renewable energy at a local scale.

We have undertaken a detailed mapping exercise of Wakefield District and believe that the area of the Westfield Lane Wind Farm proposals is one of very few areas in the district that could accommodate a wind farm in an environmentally acceptable manner and help meet Wakefield's renewable energy targets.

Our proposals can be summarised as:

• Construction of 6 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 2 to 3MW.
  
• The turbines are likely to have a hub height of around 80 metres and a maximum tip height of 125m.
  
• The turbines could produce up to 18 MW of renewable energy, enough for up to 10,000 households (based on 18 MW capacity).
  
• The site lies within one of the few areas in Wakefield identified by our site finding process as being suitable for wind farm development.

Benefits of the Westfield Lane Wind Farm proposals:

• A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by harnessing wind as an alternative to the burning of fossil fuels.
  
• This development could deliver Wakefield Councils target for the provision of renewable energy generation by 2010. Wakefield Council has a target of 10.7MW from onshore wind by 2010 and an aspirational target of 41MW by 2021. There are currently no operational wind farms in Wakefield.
  
• If the development goes ahead, Banks would extend its wider Warmer Yorkshire scheme to encompass local communities. The Warmer Yorkshire scheme is working with national organisations such as National Energy Action, Community Energy Solutions, Warm Zones and the Energy Saving Trust, to provide ways to improve the energy efficiency of local communities around our wind farm proposals. The key aims are to tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions from homes, businesses and community facilities, issues which are becoming critical with ever-increasing household bills.
  
• If the wind farm is permitted, a fund will be set up to provide local resources to assist with the delivery of sustainability schemes over the 25-year lifespan of the wind farm.

Click here to view a non technical summary of the planning application for this site.

If you want to know more about wind farm development the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have set up an informative and comprehensive web site at http://www.yes2wind.com/.

The website http://www.embracewind.com/ also has information about wind farms.

More information can also be found on the British Wind Energy Association web - http://www.bwea.com/

For further information please contact Emily Hooson, Community Engagement Coordinator on 01740 658500 or email westfieldlane@banksdevelopments.com