Cross Hills businessman Richard Chadwick says he will be forced to sell up at a loss

8:30am Wednesday 22nd June 2011 in Denholme By Hannah Baker

Richard Chadwick in front of Bracken Hall Buy this photo » Richard Chadwick in front of Bracken Hall

A businessman who has spent more than £1 million renovating an historic country mansion near Bradford says he will be forced to sell up at a “massive loss” if plans for a wind farm near his home get the go ahead.

Richard Chadwick, owner of Airedale Chemicals in Cross Hills, Keighley, bought Bracken Hall, built by the Foster family of Denholme in the 1850s, eight years ago.

He has substantially renovated the dilapidated property and its grounds to restore them to their former glory.

But the mansion is about half a mile away from the site of a proposed wind farm on Thornton Moor, where developer Banks Renewables hopes to build up to four turbines with the potential to produce electricity for 4,400 homes.

Mr Chadwick said he became aware of just how close the turbines would be to his home when he received a newsletter from Banks Renewables earlier this month.

Mr Chadwick said: “I was horrified when I had a look at where they were going to be.

“Bracken Hall would be the nearest residence to these monstrosities. These wind turbines would stand 175 metres high above Bracken Hall, they would be higher than Blackpool Tower. I don’t think people quite realise the size of these things.

“I was hoping generations of my family could make Bracken Hall their home.

“If this proposal goes ahead I and my family will be moving well away from the Bradford area and the financial consequence of selling Bracken Hall would be devastating."

But Mark Dowdall, for the Banks Group, said: “The potential effect that wind farms have on the value of residential properties in the communities around them is often raised with us.

“However, independent research carried out by Oxford Brookes University on behalf of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors found that wind farms did not, in fact, lead to such a reduction in local residential property prices."

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Comments(38)

webess says...
8:43am Wed 22 Jun 11

Has his mansion got electricity?

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somewhereinbradford says...
9:14am Wed 22 Jun 11

Before all the comments come pouring in from all the green do-gooders, take a moment just to ask yourself how you'd feel if it was to happen to you?!? All that we want is for any wind farm to be located away from residential properties because no one can prove we won't be affected by the noise and shadow flicker etc. It's because of these uncertainties that we are campaigning against them. If we suffer once they are installed its too late, and that is when we will all be unable to sell our homes... What is fair about that?
The wind turbine debate is very controversial because of the bribery involved. They are not efficient, their own co2 footprint during manufacture and installation is massive, and they cause misery for thousands of residents who have to live next to them. And even if they covered the country in them, we would not achieve the 2020 EU target for renewable energy.

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Siouxie says...
10:18am Wed 22 Jun 11

I live in Denholme and know Bracken Hall well. The proposed wind farm would be sited at least a mile behind the house, and on the top of a hill. The housing market is poor at the moment anyway, so nobody is likely to want to spend hundreds of thousands on a house anyway!

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Albion. says...
10:42am Wed 22 Jun 11

Why should this project be scrapped because of him and why should he have to move (presumably someone else would move in to his house)?
His objection shouldn't be a consideration when the "go ahead" is discussed.

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RICHARD I says...
12:31pm Wed 22 Jun 11

A bit of a non-story really.

This man is quite obviously an idiot, and the T&A has decided to indulge him.

He says he will be "forced to sell", who will be forcing him to sell?

Moreover, "forced to sell at a massive loss"

Hmmm, he's a bigger idiot than I first thought!

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somewhereinbradford says...
1:16pm Wed 22 Jun 11

Siouxie wrote:
I live in Denholme and know Bracken Hall well. The proposed wind farm would be sited at least a mile behind the house, and on the top of a hill. The housing market is poor at the moment anyway, so nobody is likely to want to spend hundreds of thousands on a house anyway!
You might know Denholme but you know nothing about the windfarm proposals!!!

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wobbley-bob says...
1:36pm Wed 22 Jun 11

somewhereinbradford wrote:
Siouxie wrote:
I live in Denholme and know Bracken Hall well. The proposed wind farm would be sited at least a mile behind the house, and on the top of a hill. The housing market is poor at the moment anyway, so nobody is likely to want to spend hundreds of thousands on a house anyway!
You might know Denholme but you know nothing about the windfarm proposals!!!
Oh behave & get off your soap box.
Not everyone in Denholme is fanatical about windmills.
I know someone who lives in Denholme who couldn't give a toss about wind farms.

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Siouxie says...
1:40pm Wed 22 Jun 11

'You might know Denholme but you know nothing about the windfarm proposals'!!!

I beg to differ! i have in front of me the glossy leaflet from the proposers of the said windfarm and ive even actually read it! ive also participated in surveys by both the proposers and the ones against it! dont presume to tell me what i dont know!

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somewhereinbradford says...
2:08pm Wed 22 Jun 11

Siouxie wrote:
'You might know Denholme but you know nothing about the windfarm proposals'!!!

I beg to differ! i have in front of me the glossy leaflet from the proposers of the said windfarm and ive even actually read it! ive also participated in surveys by both the proposers and the ones against it! dont presume to tell me what i dont know!
I haven't presumed, I know!!! My house is less than half a mile away from turbine 4 so go figure!!

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somewhereinbradford says...
2:20pm Wed 22 Jun 11

As for bracken hall, I have measured it for Richard, and it is approx 0.371 miles from his boundary to turbine 1... Now how much do you think you know??

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Tyke69 says...
2:45pm Wed 22 Jun 11

Mr Chadwick, please stop complaining and count your blessings. In the current economic climate you should be very happy you have a beautiful home to live in and you can afford to spend £1 million renovating it. If you don't want to live in it I'm sure there are people who would! If you fancy doing a house-swap I live in Shipley ;) I wouldn''t mind in the slightest about a wind turbine if I lived in your house. Please find something more important to complain about eg poverty, homelessness etc.

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Vestitas says...
3:11pm Wed 22 Jun 11

As someone else who will be affected by these monstrosities being built in their back yard I find it amazing that people who aren't can have such strong opinions. For the record I haven’t spent 1million renovating my house, i’m an ordinary person with an ordinary mortgage that is very concerned. Ask yourself whether you would like something larger than Big Ben being built behind your house, and that’s not even mentioning the noise, flicker etc etc. Regardless of the research Banks keep spouting about the value of house prices - the fact is that you are severely reducing the number of people that would be interested in buying the property in the first place – making it much more difficult to sell. I for one would rather not end up in a negative equity situation thank you very much. I also attended the presentation in Denholme (where the majority of Banks Directors arrived in BMW / Range Rovers etc - hardly "green" - and were unsurprisingly very evasive when asked whether they would like one behind their houses) and have participated in a very one sided telephone conversation with Banks. Even the literature they have recently sent out showing mock-ups of the site is misleading with how the pictures have been taken etc. The simple fact is that this is purely about money, and Banks don’t give a monkeys about how it will affect those on the doorstep. I think it’s very unfair of some of the posters above to be quite so critical when i’m sure if they were in a similar situation they’d be just as concerned.

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somewhereinbradford says...
3:17pm Wed 22 Jun 11

It doesn't matter how much money people have, most people have worked hard for what they do have... So whether the house is worth £20k, £200k or £2mill, it doesn't matter, the turbine will still cause the same disturbance to it's owners, and they have the same rights to stand up and object when something like this threatens to ruin something they have worked hard for.

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10steve says...
4:03pm Wed 22 Jun 11

The worst thing that the T&A could have done was show a picture of Mr Chadwick and his property.
this has nothing to do with what him or his property is worth its about the location of wind turbinds and there affect on people and wild live in the area.
all this has attracted is the lets bash the rich bloke brigade.
Sad sacks get a life

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Albion. says...
4:16pm Wed 22 Jun 11

10steve wrote:
The worst thing that the T&A could have done was show a picture of Mr Chadwick and his property.
this has nothing to do with what him or his property is worth its about the location of wind turbinds and there affect on people and wild live in the area.
all this has attracted is the lets bash the rich bloke brigade.
Sad sacks get a life
He obviously posed for the photograph and indicated what the property was worth so it has a great deal to do with the report.
People have been invited to make comments so everyone has to accept that whatever they might think of some of them.

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wobbley-bob says...
4:37pm Wed 22 Jun 11

MY DAD'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DAD!
Na na ne nah nah!!
.
Fgs sake, grow up.
.
It's going to happen, You're getting a big windmill next to your house....... Best move then if ya don't like the idea. ;-)

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somewhereinbradford says...
4:46pm Wed 22 Jun 11

Well I know alot that are bothered, and we will all fight Banks. It's a shame for those who aren't bothered... There's more to this argument than meets the eye, just like with the landfill which will rear it's ugly head again so I understand. I knew NOTHING about wind farms and associated corruption until last year... and it makes me sick that money can drive people to make others so unhappy, and it's happening all over the country.
Residents of small communities should stick together cos you never know when you might all need each others support. It could be your house under threat next!!

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mogpick4 says...
5:50pm Wed 22 Jun 11

Well, looking at the comments here it explains a lot about the state of Bradford today. It's either bitter people who think that because Mr Chadwick's done well for himself his opinion should be disregarded, or people that feel we should just put up, shut up & accept what others do.

Apathy gets you nowhere. if you feel strongly about something you should voice your opinion & that opinion counts regardless of your social status.

Vesistas has it right. As a hard working mortgage payer you don't buy a property & just accept a development that's going to devalue it even further than the current economy. I don't want to listen to a wind turbine 24/7 but it wasn't here (or even in the pipeline) when I chose to move here so why should I just accept the proposal now or move.

I just hope those of you that are so blase about our concerns never have to fight your corner for something you feel strongly about - or perhaps you just wouldn't bother fighting anyway?

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mogpick4 says...
6:02pm Wed 22 Jun 11

wobbley-bob wrote:
MY DAD'S BIGGER THAN YOUR DAD!
Na na ne nah nah!!
.
Fgs sake, grow up.
.
It's going to happen, You're getting a big windmill next to your house....... Best move then if ya don't like the idea. ;-)
Na na ne nah nah - and you're telling others to grow up???

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Colin Allcars says...
8:01pm Wed 22 Jun 11

could be worse, he could live next door to a chemical works!

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scanipoos says...
11:06pm Wed 22 Jun 11

The wind turbines are huge and noisy. anyone living or walking near them can vouch for that. Im sorry to hear of a wind farm with these monstosoties being built near the chaps house I wouldnt want it my back yard. so can sympathise with him.
fear-hear ..capcha..so true

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Mrs Waulker says...
7:45am Thu 23 Jun 11

I think they are pretty and maybe they should paint them rainbow colours to make people happy, and WD-40 would help the squeeks..

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Louise_Baildon says...
9:37am Thu 23 Jun 11

Mr Chadwick has the right to complain about the wind farm. Over the years that he has lived at Bracken Hall he has worked very closely with the enviroment agencies with regards to trees in the garden and various other agencies - hopefully doing the correct 'green' thing. Look at the windfarm near Skipton - half the time they don't work and are left in a dreadfull condition - if you want a windfarm near you, go and live there!! Leave the man alone, he is looking after his family and wants the best for them.

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Louise_Baildon says...
12:20pm Thu 23 Jun 11

RICHARD I wrote:
A bit of a non-story really. This man is quite obviously an idiot, and the T&A has decided to indulge him. He says he will be "forced to sell", who will be forcing him to sell? Moreover, "forced to sell at a massive loss" Hmmm, he's a bigger idiot than I first thought!
Personall, I think you are the idiot - he has restored the house and the grounds to how they use to be and now he wants himself and his family to enjoy what he had been doing over the past 8 years - not to have it ruined by some awful wind turbins -

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RICHARD I says...
1:38pm Thu 23 Jun 11

Louise - Please read my comment again and re-post.

I didn't say he was an idiot for objecting to the wind turbine. I said he was an idiot for saying he would be "forced to sell" and " forced to sell at a massive loss"

PS: The wind turbines will be 1/2 a mile from his house, I suggest you get in your car, drive 1/2 a mile in a straight line and see how far away your house is!

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mogpick4 says...
2:25pm Thu 23 Jun 11

Half a mile is no distance when you consider the size of these turbines and the elevation they are at. In Scotland legislation requires that turbines of this size are located a minimum of 2km (1.25mile) away from residential properties - typically for us the government has rejected the idea of a separation distance for England (& Wales). I'm even more unfortunate as they'll be around 0.3 mile away.

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Louise_Baildon says...
2:32pm Thu 23 Jun 11

RICHARD I wrote:
Louise - Please read my comment again and re-post. I didn't say he was an idiot for objecting to the wind turbine. I said he was an idiot for saying he would be "forced to sell" and " forced to sell at a massive loss" PS: The wind turbines will be 1/2 a mile from his house, I suggest you get in your car, drive 1/2 a mile in a straight line and see how far away your house is!
I do know who far 1/2 a mile is - thank you....and the turbines would be 1/3 of a mile away (just to let you know that is less then 1/2 a mile).
Yes you did say Mr Chadwick was an 'idiot' for being forced to sell the property - he does not want to live where there are wind turbines, so would have to sell, if they do build them, and at the mo it has not been passed - so he would be forced to sell to live elsewhere away for the turbines.

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mogpick4 says...
2:42pm Thu 23 Jun 11

For anyone that does care about the impact this will have on Denholme and the surrounding countryside the final day to provide feedback to the developers is tomorrow (24th) Ring 0845 153 0071

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Mrs Blobby says...
3:18pm Thu 23 Jun 11

Louise,why are you calling him Mr Chadwick,when you are his cousin?

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Louise_Baildon says...
3:23pm Thu 23 Jun 11

Mrs Blobby wrote:
Louise,why are you calling him Mr Chadwick,when you are his cousin?
Who's that!!!!!! Only being polite!!!!!

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Far Away says...
3:29pm Thu 23 Jun 11

I could forsee this type of thing, and others of a similar nature, happening some time ago. The way Governments and their politics are set up these days there is no point in trying to object against this type of thing as there are too many fingers in the pie. I will state here and now that everyone with anything to do with this project will stand to gain from it. Mostly illegally some legitimately. The rot has gone too far to correct now so do what I did, vote with your feet and go somewhere outside the UK to live. There is always somewhere if you put your mind to it. Don't give these corrupt people and agencies the satisfaction of having rolled over on you. You are the losers, not them.

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denholmelad says...
5:39pm Thu 23 Jun 11

By cutting nearly all the trees down.

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denholmelad says...
5:57pm Thu 23 Jun 11

Im all for the wind farm. Its got to be better then burning thousands of tonnes of coal a year. I have family that live closer to the site that are all for it too. His house is in a dip anyway so he would hardly see them plus if he hadn't cut nearly all the trees down he probably wouldn't see them at all.

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somewhereinbradford says...
10:56pm Mon 27 Jun 11

Far Away wrote:
I could forsee this type of thing, and others of a similar nature, happening some time ago. The way Governments and their politics are set up these days there is no point in trying to object against this type of thing as there are too many fingers in the pie. I will state here and now that everyone with anything to do with this project will stand to gain from it. Mostly illegally some legitimately. The rot has gone too far to correct now so do what I did, vote with your feet and go somewhere outside the UK to live. There is always somewhere if you put your mind to it. Don't give these corrupt people and agencies the satisfaction of having rolled over on you. You are the losers, not them.
Thanks for the advice Far Away, but if we don't challenge the plans and voice our objections/concerns, we will have no right whatsoever to complain about the turbines once they have been erected.

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somewhereinbradford says...
11:05pm Mon 27 Jun 11

denholmelad wrote:
Im all for the wind farm. Its got to be better then burning thousands of tonnes of coal a year. I have family that live closer to the site that are all for it too. His house is in a dip anyway so he would hardly see them plus if he hadn't cut nearly all the trees down he probably wouldn't see them at all.
Not sure how you can be all for a proposal that won't affect you, with you living in Ingrow and all that.

I'd really like people to have a long hard think about how people in Denholme/Oxenhope and Denholme Gate feel about the proposals, the fear of not being able to sleep at night from the constant pulsating that will vibrate through the house, the low frequency noise that will drive everyone to distraction, the shadow flicker that will make our homes inhabitable, and in and amongst this we're trying to build a home for our families and children to enjoy and feel safe in.

This is not a green crusade... it's, a financial one, and you won't be seeing the end of a single power station in lieu of these turbines either.

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somewhereinbradford says...
11:12pm Mon 27 Jun 11

somewhereinbradford wrote:
As for bracken hall, I have measured it for Richard, and it is approx 0.371 miles from his boundary to turbine 1... Now how much do you think you know??
for those people who think that people are not going to be able to see the turbines, the able measurement is as measured on an aerial view of the area from the internet. Mr Chawick's claims are true, and the turbine will be a little over a third of a mile away from his property. This article is not sensationalising... it's the truth.

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cylon 2 says...
4:38pm Tue 28 Jun 11

Look on the bright side, at least it will be cool in the summer, with all those super sized fans.

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Moorland resident says...
12:27pm Thu 7 Jul 11

Well after being up on the moor yesterday afternoon i can confirm the distance from all the turbines is quite a distance to Mr chadwicks property, there is a reservoir and moor one side and fields on the other. Yes the turbines will be visible but unless they are going to disturb his love of tennis on his private tennis court through not being able to serve they will have no effect on his property, he would not be able to see them at all if the trees remained but hey someone cut them down!!! As for the other residents they will only be able to see the top of the mast and the propellors like they can already do so with the turbines which already exist. I actually think some of these campaigners should go up on the moors but they would probably get lost if they had to leave the A629 and venture moorland!!! Well better get back up on that moor and get back to work!!! Oh and i see there is plenty of room to store the turbines till they are built at the soon to be demolished denholme velvets!!!! happy moaning nimbys

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