Representation by West Row Parish Council (West Row Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 17 February 2022
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
West Row Parish Council, on behalf of the residents of West Row, has severe concerns around the following aspects of the proposed scheme: - Visual impact on landscape - the site is enormous and would forever change the landscape of the area. The proposed mitigation (i.e. hedges) is very poorly thought-through and completely insufficient. Over 30 miles of security fencing will make the area feel like a warzone. - Construction damage - our rural roads are not designed to support the traffic required to build this scheme which includes laying over 100 acres of concrete. Roads and verges will be damaged, and the local community will have to suffer and pay the costs of repairs. Most rural roads lack pavements or cut verges and the increased traffic will be dangerous to other roads users, especially those not in vehicles (i.e. on foot, bicycle or horseback). - End of Scheme - we fear that after 40 years the scheme will either continue, or more likely, the company will be quickly wound up and the panels left in situ, for others to have to pay the enormous costs of disposing of the panels and returning the land to its current state, or it could be simply left as a toxic wasteland. It is also likely that the panels would need to be changed at least once during the life of the scheme, creating further traffic and pollution issues. - Carbon Emissions - there is no evidence that this scheme will even be carbon-neutral. The only possible justification for the scheme is on this basis, which must be proved and take account of advancing technology expecting during the life of the scheme. - Public Rights of Way - the scheme wants to close public rights of ways for years of construction, and does not include sufficient replacements. This is completely unacceptable. - Battery Sites - these would be massive industrial compounds in an otherwise rural landscape. Planning permission would never be granted for such development in normal circumstances and must not be granted now either. There are huge concerns over what happens if - or more likely when - one of these battery storage compounds catches fire. They cannot be extinguished and can only be left to burn out - emitting poisonous gases that will harm the health of residents for miles around, not to mention the wider environmental impact.