Residents in a string of Yorkshire villages are fighting plans for a new wind farm at a scenic countryside location closely associated with David Hockney.
The proposal would see six turbines, each rising to around 492ft, installed in the rural landscape around Woldgate, near Burton Agnes.
Ridge Clean Energy, the developer behind the scheme, says the turbines would be part of the Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park, a wider green energy project also featuring a solar farm and battery storage.
But people living nearby fear the towering structures would overwhelm the sweeping East Yorkshire countryside that helped shape some of Hockney’s best-known landscape work.
The Bradford-born artist famously painted Woldgate Woods after regularly travelling through the area on his way to Bridlington, where he kept a studio.
One of those works, titled Woldgate Woods, fetched £9.4million when it was sold in New York in 2016.
Hockney has spoken out against wind farm developments in the region before, dismissing turbines as “big ugly things”.
The latest application, lodged by Ridge Clean Energy last month, has now sparked fresh concern among communities close to the proposed Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park site.
Rob Booth (left) and Brendan McEvoy who are opposed to wind turbines planned to be built near Bridlington in Yorkshire are pictured
Woldgate Woods that appear in many of painter David Hockney’s East Yorkshire paintings are seen here
British painter David Hockney poses at the Pompidou Centre in Paris on September 26, 2017 in front of one of his painting The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011
Local councillor Denise Howard claimed Hockney would be ‘heartbroken’ to see six giant turbines on the iconic landscape that inspired his work.
She added: ‘Woldgate is not an anonymous stretch of countryside.
‘It is one of the most recognisable landscapes in Yorkshire, celebrated internationally through the work of David Hockney and treasured by the communities that live here.
‘Along with Burton Agnes Hall and the Rudston Monolith, this area is crucial to our tourism economy.
‘We support renewable energy in the right place, but this is certainly not the right place.’
The proposal is for the erection of a wind farm consisting of six turbines and one 300-foot-high (91.4m) meteorological mast inside a 5.4-hectare area.
It will also include the installation of underground cabling, transformer kiosks, construction of crane pads, access tracks, and widening of existing vehicular access.
In a planning statement report put together on behalf of Ridge Clean Energy the company says the turbines would ‘not result in significant adverse effect’ on the area adding they are ‘capable of being accommodated within the host landscape’.
Nancy Miller, a local artist who draws inspiration from the landscape and who works near where 6 wind turbines are planned, is pictured
The countryside around Woldgate near Bridlington in Yorkshire near to where 6 wind turbines are planned is seen here
The turbines are estimated to produce the equivalent power consumed by approximately 24,000 average UK households annually
Gallery assistants carry The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011, by David Hockney
David Hockney – The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011
They also say the turbines are estimated to produce the equivalent power consumed by approximately 24,000 average UK households annually.
Ridge Clean Energy goes on to claim the erection would be a ‘significant contribution’ to the country’s green energy requirements.
The proposal is one of the biggest in the UK since the removal of the ban on onshore wind farming in 2024 with the aim of doubling onshore wind energy by 2030.
But locals say the turbines will tower over the Woldgate landscape Hockney once took inspiration from.
Retired art teacher Nancy Millar, 75, who lives in a nearby village of Carnaby said: ‘I’m a huge champion of green energy and the fight against climate change.
‘It’s all a matter of placement and minimising negative impact. We all understand from its physical size and functionality the chosen location is always going to be rural, impact wildlife and alter the landscape forever.
‘This site unfortunately pushes the impact to another level.
‘The recent loss of David Hockney has made his depictions of the landscape under discussion even more irreplaceable.
‘If the project goes ahead on this site it shows a huge lack of respect for national artistic heritage, let’s face it, there are other fields that haven’t been painted by one of the most iconic artists in modern history.
‘The battle against climate change doesn’t have to be a war on culture.’
Hockney created several pieces in the area most notably a six-month project titled ‘The Arrival of Spring’ he painted on his iPad from January 1 to early June 2011.
In an attempt to soften the blow Ridge Clean Energy has offered a ‘community benefit fund’ of around £126,000 a year – which is worth over £5 million throughout the 40 years it will be operational.
The money will be used to help fund community led initiatives, according to the website.
Rob Booth, 58, a Rudston resident and member of campaign group Keep Wind Off Woldgate, said: ‘Residents are absolutely appalled that the developer has said these turbines can be ‘accommodated within the host landscape’ and would not result in significant adverse effects, when East Riding Council’s own pre-application assessment concluded precisely the opposite.
‘The council planners described this part of the Yorkshire Wolds as a “highly sensitive area” and found that the wind farm would cause “harm to the landscape, heritage assets and living conditions”.
‘It went on to state that those harms would “significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits”.
‘We will continue to fight these plans and encourage everyone who values this unique destination to submit their objections.’
Ridge Clean Energy said it would combine the turbines with the already approved solar energy farm which will ‘offset emissions’ and ‘contribute to the national legislation of net zero emissions by 2050’.
East Riding County Council approved the 161 acre solar farm in Spring 2024.
Richard Barker, project manager of the proposed Three Oaks Renewable Energy Park Extension, said: ‘The noise report demonstrates that the wind turbines would meet the strict guidelines established by the UK Government.
‘Whilst recognising there could be localised landscape and visual impacts, as is the nature of onshore wind in the countryside, it is important to consider these in the context of delivering much needed renewable energy.’
If the plans are agreed work can begin in early 2028, with construction time expected to take around eight months.
In 2011, more than 1,000 people signed a petition calling for the Yorkshire Wolds to be granted special protection status amid plans for wind turbines.
The area is still yet to receive Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Hockney died peacefully at his home in London on June 11, according to his representatives.
