Representation by Christopher Reeks
- Date submitted
- 2 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I [Redacted] run my business from La Hogue farm immediately adjacent to one of the proposed large areas of solar panels and battery storage units which form part of the Sunnica Energy Farm proposal. I have owned and run a farm shop and café from La Hogue for nearly 20 years. We employ 45 people in the farm shop & café. I object to the Sunnica Energy Farm scheme for the following reasons:- 1. During the construction phase of the energy farm (which will last approximately 2 years) there will be a huge number of vehicle movements down the very narrow access road which leads to my business. This will be incredibly dangerous for both my staff and customers trying to reach my farm shop & café 2. I believe that the inconvenience caused by the construction phase of the scheme will deter customers from visiting the farm shop & café and will have a major adverse impact on turnover and profit of the business 3. I am very concerned and frightened by the proximity of the proposed battery storage units (only one field away from our boundary) and the potential for these to catch fire and pollute the local area 4. The beautiful vista from my café is something that my customers enjoy hugely and this will be destroyed by the Sunnica Energy Farm. This will further put customers off visiting my business and have a detrimental impact on turnover and profit. This will potentially lead to a situation where some staff jobs are lost due to the business becoming significantly quieter. 5. Ground mounted U.K. solar energy generation is a grossly inefficient way of generating energy and completely insignificant in contributing to U.K. power generation capacity. It is a waste of good productive agricultural land.