TESTS to see if a wind farm should be built on the moors above Todmorden should not go ahead, it has been claimed.

Secretary of Todmorden Moor Restoration Trust, Robin Pennie, told Todmorden Town Council that an application for a testing mast would lead to damage to moorland.

Calderdale Council has been asked for permission to build a 60-metre anemometry mast for 18 months at Flower Scar Road, Sharneyford, Todmorden.

But Mr Pennie told councillors that Flower Scar Road was totally unsuited to the heavy machinery needed for the project and it was questionable if the land would ever recover.

Mr Pennie said: "Heavy vehicles would have to drive across one of the last area of unspoiled peat moorland.

"It is ironic that no sooner is Flower Scar Road closed to vehicles than we have a developer wishing to create more of the same problem that the trust, with the council support, has been trying to remedy for years.

"At a time when Todmorden Moor is beginning to recover from a long history of industrial use and abuse, this does not seem to be the moment to open up the moor to further industrial development."