CAMPAIGNERS have pleaded with windfarm developers not to destroy a much-loved cobbled road in Rossendale.

Waterfoot man Graham Wright set up the Friends of Rooley Moor Road group on Saturday, and has already arranged a meeting with MP Jake Berry.

Last month, the Lancashire Telegraph revealed that Coronation Power was planning to build up to 12 new turbines and an access road near the Valley’s border with Rochdale.

Mr Wright said Rooley Moor Road, also known as Cotton Famine Road, was ‘part of Rossendale’s heritage’.

He said: “Anyone who has run, walked or cycled over the remaining cobbled sections of Rooley Moor Road couldn't fail to agree that their unique attraction should be protected and preserved.

“We need to use our collective voices to protest and preserve what is an important part of our heritage.” More than 240 people have joined the Friends of Rooley Moor Road Facebook group and Mr Wright, who is chairman of Rossendale Hariers and Athletic Club, is due to discuss the issue with Mr Berry today.

The Conservative MP has set up an online petition - Not on Our Hills - opposing Coronation Power’s plans, and separate proposals by Scout Moor Wind Farm Ltd for 26 new turbines at Scout Moor, near Edenfield.

A Coronation Power statement said: “There is public support for wind power.

“But local concerns have been expressed about our project and so we are looking at ways to reduce its impact and ensure that the recreational use of Rooley Moor is not diminished.

“We have yet to finalise our plans as we are carrying out additional environmental and technical studies; a reduction in the number of turbines is under consideration.”

Rooley Moor Road, which forms part of the Mary Towneley Loop, runs south-east from Stacksteads, past Cowpe and over the moor towards Healey Dell, Whitworth and Rochdale. The cobbled section dates back to the 1860s.