Keep Wind off Woldgate

The developer has now submitted its planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council (July 2026). It is now live on the planning portal, and YOU NEED TO OBJECT BY AUGUST 20. An email address and link to the planning portal to lodge your objection is at the end of this article.

This guide is for residents, visitors, walkers, cyclists, horse riders, artists and anyone who values the Yorkshire Wolds and wants to submit a clear, credible planning objection.

When objecting, it is essential to focus on material planning considerations. These are the issues a planning authority is legally required to consider. Personal inconvenience or general opposition to wind power carries little weight; landscape, heritage and amenity impacts do.

1. What is Being Proposed?

The application proposes an industrial-scale wind farm on fields bordering Woldgate and behind Burton Agnes Hall in the Yorkshire Wolds. The application is initially for six, 150 metre (495 ft) turbines. They would be sited on a nationally recognised chalk landscape valued for:

• open skies and long-distance views

• historic routes and tranquil character

• cultural and artistic significance

The Wolds are defined by scale, simplicity and openness. Large vertical structures are fundamentally at odds with these qualities.

2. Key Planning Grounds for Objection

🌄 Landscape and Visual Impact

• Visual harm: The proposed sit is an elevated and exposed, open landscape where turbines would be highly visible across long distances and dominate views.

• Character change: The turbines would permanently alter the simple horizon lines and uncluttered character that define the Wolds.

• Cumulative impact: Adding industrial infrastructure here contributes to the gradual industrialisation of a sensitive landscape. There are already three wind farms clearly visible from the site.

🏛️ Heritage and Cultural Significance

• Setting of heritage assets: Turbines would harm the setting of Burton Agnes Hall and the Rudston Monolith.

• International cultural value: Woldgate and surrounding routes were painted multiple times by the late David Hockney giving the area global cultural recognition. (Hockney publicly opposed a wind farm proposed for the same site in 2012, arguing that they damage the very qualities that make such places special)

• Archaeological significance: The area is one of Britain’s most important neolithic sites, with a high concentration of monuments including the Rudston Monolith, which is the tallest single standing stone in Britain.

🏡Residential Amenity

• Overbearing presence: For nearby properties, turbines may feel oppressive due to their height, movement and visibility.

• Noise and shadow flicker: Turbine noise and blade shadow effects can adversely affect living conditions, particularly in quiet rural areas.

🌱 Ecology and Environment

• Wildlife risk: Potential impacts on birds, bats and other protected species, especially in open landscapes used for feeding and movement.

• Habitat disruption: Construction and access works risk damaging sensitive habitats.

• Woodland: The area around and close to the proposed wind farm has some of the area’s few shelter belts of woodland, so vitally important for the above.

🚶‍♀️ Tourism, Recreation and Wellbeing

• Woldgate is widely used by walkers, cyclists, artists, photographers and visitors seeking tranquillity.

• Industrial-scale turbines would reduce the sense of escape, quiet enjoyment and visual quality that draws people to the area.

• This has knock-on effects for local tourism and wellbeing.

⚖️ Planning Policy Considerations

• Local policy conflict: The proposal may conflict with local planning policies protecting landscape character and valued views.

• National policy balance: While national policy supports renewable energy, it is clear that this does not override unacceptable local harm. Location and scale matter.

🌬️ Wrong Development in the Wrong Place

• Objecting to this proposal is not opposition to renewable energy.

• The issue is siting: sensitive landscapes should be protected from development that could be located elsewhere with far less harm.

3. How to Write Your Objection

Keep your objection:

• Polite

• Personal

• Planning-based

A simple structure works best:

1. Who you are (resident, visitor, walker, cyclist, artist, etc.)

2. Your connection to the area

3. Why the landscape matters

4. How the proposal would harm it

5. A clear statement of objection

4. Sample Objection Paragraph (Adapt Freely)

I object to the proposed wind turbines due to their unacceptable impact on the character and visual integrity of the area around Woldgate, Burton Agnes Hall and wider area. It is a uniquely open and tranquil chalk landscape, internationally recognised through the work of David Hockney and valued by walkers, cyclists, artists and visitors. Industrial-scale turbines would dominate long views, disrupt the simplicity of the landscape and cause permanent harm to its character. This is the wrong development in the wrong place.

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Aggressive or emotional language
❌ Complaints about house prices
❌ One-line objections with no reasons
❌ Copy-and-paste submissions with no personal input

Planning officers give more weight to individual, reasoned objections.

6. How to submit your objection

To view the planning application, visit East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s public access website and search using the planning reference number: 26/01388/STPLFE CLICK HERE

OBJECT VIA EMAIL: You can send objections via email. Make sure you include the planning reference number in the subject line and body of your email. The address is: planning@eastriding.gov.uk

OBJECT VIA THE PLANNING PORTAL: You can send objections via the planning portal. You will be asked to register. CLICK HERE

7. Final Reminder

Landscapes like this are finite. Once the character is altered, it cannot be restored. Thoughtful objections help decision-makers understand that this place has value beyond maps and megawatts.