The Land of the Lune - Drakkar Press

Bretherdale Beck
Bretherdale Beck runs between the A6 and M6 in the
valley of Bretherdale, which was quiet and ignored
until it came into the public limelight after a proposal to
erect 27 wind turbines, 115m high, in a 6km by 2km area
on its southern ridge. The proposal for what came to be
called the Whinash Wind Farm was eventually rejected
by the Secretary of State in 2006 because “the Whinash
site is an important and integral part of a far-reaching
landscape which is highly sensitive to change”.
The proposal for what would have become England’s
largest land-based set of wind turbines became a test
case for the conflict between protecting the landscape
and securing renewable energy. Many factors provoked
heated debates – too many to summarise here – but
one that, judging from the 127-page inspector’s report,
seems to have been decisive is that the wind turbines
would have impacted on views from the Lakes and Dales
National Parks, from Orton Fells, and from locations
further north. So, the views of Whinash were apparently
more important than the merits of Whinash itself.
It is difficult to argue for those merits: “People love
Bretherdale for its wild, open solitude” … “But nobody
ever goes there” … “But if they did they’d love the
solitude.” How bleak and empty does a region have to be
to be appreciated for that very bleakness and emptiness?
How much intrusion can an empty region absorb before
losing its emptiness? This is an argument not just for
Bretherdale: many parts of Loyne appeal because so few
people go there.
The proposers argued that the wind turbines would
increase the number of visitors to the area. The head of
onshore wind for the British Wind Energy Association
expressed incredulity that anyone should wish to visit
other than to see the turbines: “You’re not going to get
visitors within earshot of the M6 any other way. It’s
barren moorland. Why would people want to walk there
otherwise?”
The debate about Whinash was obfuscated by
opinions that the National Park boundaries might or would
soon change. In particular, some professed to believe
that the Birkbeck Fells, Bretherdale and Borrowdale
were about to become part of the Lake District National
Park – and of course it is unthinkable to have wind
turbines in the Lake District. At the moment, the Lake
District is ringed with wind turbines but there are none
within its boundaries. On the other hand, the proposal,
Bretherdale Beck 35
if approved, might have prevented the Birkbeck Fells
joining the Lake District or might have set a precedent
for further wind turbines in the Lake District.
A further issue was that all but three of the proposed
27 turbines would have been on common land, which
raised the question of possible interference with the
rights of commoners. Much of the higher land of Loyne
remains as traditional common land but its legal position
is muddled. All common land belongs to an owner (here
the Lowther Estate) not to the commoners. It is the
owner’s prerogative to make proposals about the land.
While the commoners argued that there would be a loss
of grazing rights the inspector did not agree with them.
In fact, he considered that the commoners would benefit
from easier access along the new tracks.
Among those who contributed to the debate were
long-established groups such as Friends of the Earth
and English Nature and newly created ones such as
Friends of Bretherdale. Bretherdale never knew it had
so many friends. The valley today has many abandoned
farmsteads, which visitors, if there are any, might find
charmingly derelict. But each of them was the home,
perhaps for centuries, of families that were forced, in
despair, to abandon their houses and their livelihoods.
Where were the friends when these families needed
them? Are a few wind turbines so much more important
than the ruination of people’s lives? Again, these are
questions not just for Bretherdale. Loyne is and always
has been predominantly rural and many communities
continue to struggle to find a role in the 21 st century.
As far as Bretherdale is concerned, all is far from
lost. Although it may be too late for higher Bretherdale,
except perhaps some buildings of Bretherdale Head,
from Midwath Stead downstream there has been some
reinvigoration. For example, Bretherdale Hall has been
renovated despite uncertainty about the wind turbines.
Midwath Stead itself seems a lively group of homesteads,
with, according to its sign, “free range children”.
Overall, it is a pleasant, sheltered valley, with rocky
outcrops on the surrounding hills and an unobtrusive
conifer plantation with other natural woodlands.
Below Midwath Stead some of the fields are, like those
near Raisbeck, traditional unploughed meadows and
consequently rich in grasses, herbs and flowers.
After the Bretherdale Beck junction, Birk Beck
proceeds uneventfully for 2km past Low Scales farm
and under the three-arched Birkbeck Viaduct to join the
Lune.
This is Chapter 2 of The Land of the Lune (2nd edition), http://www.drakkar.co.uk/landofthelune.html, Copyright © 2010 John Self