Plans for Yorkshire Dales hydro plant take step forward

Plans for Yorkshire Dales hydro plant take step forward

An application for listed building consent has been submitted due to the potential impact of the scheme on the original features of Winterburn Reservoir, in Malhamdale.

Planning permission has already been granted for a 185KW plant at Winterburn Reservoir, in Malhamdale, by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.

The company behind the scheme, Ellergreen Hydro, says the scheme could power up to 140 homes in the south-west of the park and offset the emission of 260 tonnes of CO2 annually by the generation of electricity from a renewable source.
The reservoir was constructed between 1885 and 1893 by Leeds civil engineers Henry Rofe and Edward Filliter.
The plant would be built on the reservoir’s outfall.

The listed items include the wave wall with valve tower and bridge, water ladder, low-level outlet, weir and gauging house.
The applicants say it is unclear whether listed building consent is needed, but they are applying to be “prudent”.
Supporting documents submitted with the application state: “Micro hydropower is naturally constrained in scale by the availability of the natural resource it utilises.

“The ability of the technology components to be buried, hidden by natural features, and blended into the local landscape by the use of stonework and timber cladding results in schemes that have a very minor visual footprint.

“The scheme will barely be visible unless in its immediate vicinity.”

The reservoir was constructed to help maintain levels on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and is still used today to maintain canal water levels by feeding into the River Aire.