Once the developer has submitted its planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council (expected late March 2026), you will be able to make an official objection. We will publish the link to the Council’s planning portal on this site as soon as it becomes available.

This guide is for residents, visitors, walkers, cyclists, 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.

Here is an example planning objection you can use as a guide.

1. What is Being Proposed?

The application proposes industrial-scale wind turbines at Woldgate, within the Yorkshire Wolds, 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: Woldgate is an 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: Even if turbines exist elsewhere, adding industrial infrastructure here contributes to the gradual industrialisation of a sensitive landscape.

🏛️ Heritage and Cultural Significance

• Setting of heritage assets: Turbines may harm the wider setting of historic routes, landscapes and nearby heritage features.

• International cultural value: Woldgate and surrounding routes inspired David Hockney’s celebrated Wolds paintings, giving the area global cultural recognition.

• Hockney has publicly opposed large wind turbines in similar landscapes, arguing that they damage the very qualities that make such places special.

🏡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 chalkland habitats.

🚶‍♀️ 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 like the Yorkshire Wolds 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 Woldgate

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 Woldgate wind turbines due to their unacceptable impact on the character and visual integrity of the Yorkshire Wolds. Woldgate 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. Final Reminder

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