England’s Cotton Famine, John Bright, and Lincoln
The RMNF trustees are grateful to the Abraham Lincoln Association (ALA) for making their members aware of the plight concerning an aggressive application to build a wind farm on Rooley Moor that will destroy the tranquil and historic landscape of the Cotton Famine Road. Please see page 2 of the newsletter below.
The RMNF trustees are concerned any application to further industrialise our moorland is in direct conflict with our charitable objects. We believe the benefits of the Cubico proposal do not outweigh the negative impacts, which go beyond the obvious loss of amenity, environmental and visual impacts 21 wind turbines each 180m high would bring.
RMNF members have consulted with our local Labour MPs who seem intent on toeing the party line despite the negative impacts on the very poorest in society this development would bring.
There is a stealth tax on all domestic energy bills. It accounts for 16% of the final price of electricity and 5.5% of the final price of gas. It is a government policy that doesn’t discriminate and penalises the poorest in society. We suggest winter fuel payments are simply a way for the government to further subsidise the energy market.
Cubico will not share their numbers, we have asked but they hide behind commercial sensitivities, so we’ve looked at similar windfarm operations whose accounts are available to the public and the profits are frankly obscene.
We invite Cubico to refute our calculations that suggest over a 40-year period Cubico’s Canadian Pension Fund Owners will make £4.5 billion profit after tax in return for £56 million business rates and a £20m community “wealth” fund. Not a bad return on a £200m investment that will ultimately be paid for through the price we pay for energy (the UK is in the top 10 of countries in the world for the most expensive electricity).
The RMNF trustees will be inviting all our local Labour MPs and Labour Councillors to meet with RMNF members so they can explain their reasoning for openly supporting the Cubico proposal for a wind farm.
We expect RMNF will have to seek legal advice to put up a defence to protect our moorland, so if you are able please give a donation by clicking HERE.
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the Abraham Lincoln Association newsletter.