Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
Derbyshire High Peak campaigners opposed to the controversial Peak Cluster carbon capture scheme are urging people to join sections of a ‘solidarity’ relay walk along the estimated 200km route of the proposed project’s underground pipeline.
Peak Cluster, which is made up of cement and lime producers in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, aims to oversee the project that will capture carbon dioxide from four cement and lime producers across sites in Buxton and the Hope Valley, in Derbyshire, and near Cauldon, in Staffordshire, with an underground pipeline.
The proposed scheme, which is in its pre-application stage, aims to take CO2 from the connecting cement and lime plants and quarries to the proposed Morecambe Net Zero carbon storage site beneath the Irish Sea after passing through Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Merseyside to help secure the industry and reduce carbon emissions.
But Action Against Carbon Capture Storage (AACCS) is organising The Great Pipeline Walk or ‘Pipewalk’ as a community relay on Sunday, September 27, from the High Peak to the Wirral with a choice of adjoining High Peak walks for people to join between three and six miles long.
Organiser Ruth George, who is also a Derbyshire County Councillor for Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith, said: “The aim of the ‘Pipewalk’ is to raise awareness of Peak Cluster’s proposals, the impact they will have on our environment, and the way in which the pipeline is routed directly above so many of our communities, posing a lethal risk in the event of a leak of carbon dioxide.
“Many people have concerns and we are aiming to bring communities together. Each section of the walk is being led by a walk leader, and we welcome anyone interested to join us whether it’s just to meet up at our gathering points or to walk one or more sections through our beautiful Peak District countryside.
“You can use trains or buses to travel to or from your starting point at Buxton, Dove Holes, Chapel, Whaley Bridge or Disley.
“We will have lots of information about Peak Cluster’s proposals and how to join the campaign against them at Chapel Leisure Centre, or at the Ram’s Head at the end of the walk in Disley.”
Proposed scheme work plants include: Buxton Lime’s Tunstead lime plant, at Tunstead Quarry, off Waterswallows Rd, in Buxton; Breedon’s Hope cement plant, at Pindale Road, in the Hope Valley; Tarmac’s Tunstead cement plant, at Waterswallows Road, Tunstead House, in Buxton; and Holcim’s Cauldon plant between Cauldon and Waterhouses villages in Staffordshire.
Peak Cluster stated the project aims to secure the future of Britain’s cement and lime industries while safeguarding and creating jobs and ensuring a reliable, ‘homemade’ supply of essential materials while greatly reducing carbon emissions.
But AACCS has raised concerns about disruption and the feared threat to farmland, biodiversity and countryside bordering on the National Park and damage to the Wirral coastline particularly from the planned large Above Ground Installations needed to transport the CO2 with two proposed for Dove Holes and Chapel-en-le-Frith.
They have are also raised concerns about public safety, emergency planning and the long-term risks of transporting and storing of CO2.
AACCS Director Laura Beveridge-Muircroft argued the walk is not a protest but a show of solidarity to demonstrate the scale of the land and environment that could be affected if the scheme goes ahead.
She said: “The walk is about more than the pipeline itself. It is about the people, communities, farmers and landowners who have lived with the uncertainty and pressure created by these proposals.
“For many, that impact has been significant. The uncertainty surrounding land, homes, businesses and livelihoods has taken a considerable toll on wellbeing and mental health.”
She added: “This walk represents our solidarity with those directly affected. Our solidarity with the farmers and landowners facing uncertainty over their land. Our solidarity with the local councils and representatives who have stood alongside their communities. And our solidarity with one another, across every county affected by the Peak Cluster proposals.”
Peak Cluster says the scheme will use carbon capture technology to lock away carbon dioxide emitted at the four plants which will help secure the future for 40per cent of the nation’s cement and lime industries.
Spirit Energy’s Morecambe Net Zero project, which plans to transform gas fields in the Irish Sea into carbon dioxide storage sites, and Peak Cluster are expected to work together to safeguard and create 13,000 jobs by 2050, according to Peak Cluster, with around 1,500 jobs created across the East Midlands and North West during construction.
Peak Cluster argued that cement production is responsible for 7.5per cent of global CO2 emissions but it claims its plans will prevent over three million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year while strengthening the industry’s resilience and opening up new opportunities for growth.
According to Planning Inspectorate documents, the proposed pipeline corridor is to be 300 metres wide and 121 miles long, but this would eventually be narrowed down to 100 metres in width to allow for adjustments while the actual pipes would be around a metre wide.
Peak Cluster Chairperson David Parkin has said gas and liquids have been transported using pipelines for over 100 years in the UK and the practice is robustly regulated and the UK has a global reputation for safety in this field.
He said: “The UK, along with the rest of the world, has to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and needs to take bold action across every sector of the economy.
“We must secure the UK’s supply of British-made cement and lime – essential materials to build homes and infrastructure as well as cleaning our water and improving our soils. The UK’s cement and lime production can only be decarbonised through capturing, and locking away the unavoidable carbon emissions.”
The project, which is expected to take three years to build across four counties, is to be decided nationally, with councils acting as consultees alongside residents, interest groups and businesses.
Derbyshire County Council has agreed to oppose the plans, which will run through the Peak District, due to safety concerns for residents, farmers and landowners while agreeing to support the county’s quarries and cement industry to secure Government funding to reduce emissions at source.
Once the scheme proposals are finalised, Peak Cluster aims to submit a Development Consent Order application in 2027 for Government approval.
The Labour Government has agreed to award £28.6m towards the estimated £59.6m project with the remaining funding for the scheme to come from private firms, according to the Planning Inspectorate.
A Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said carbon capture, usage and storage is vital for Britain’s clean energy future and will support thousands of jobs across the country and all such projects will need to meet strict environmental requirements.
The AACCS High Peak campaign walk meeting points and timings include:
Option 1 – 8am, Hope Car Park to Mootiful Milk (six miles), 11.30am, Mootiful Milk Farm above Peak Forest to Chapel Leisure Centre (five miles);
Option 2 – 10am, Buxton railway station (first train arrives at 9.52am) to Dove Holes (five miles), 12.30pm, Dove Holes to Chapel Leisure Centre (three miles), 2pm, Chapel Leisure Centre to Whaley Bridge canal basin (four miles), 4pm, Whaley Bridge canal basin to the Ram’s Head pub in Disley (four miles), 6pm Gathering at the Ram’s Head pub, Disley.
Cheshire and Wirral campaign groups will be walking their sections on the same day in a show of solidarity along the estimated 200km proposed pipeline route.
Those interested in the High Peak event can visit https://highpeak.actionagainstccs.com/2026/08/14/pipewalk/ for full details of each stage of the walk.
Ms George added that people with less mobility or families with buggies can walk from Chapel Leisure Centre at 2pm to the Hanging Gate pub, or can join the leg from Whaley Bridge canal basin at 4pm to Disley along the canal towpath.
