Representation by John Morrey
- Date submitted
- 11 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I currently work within the racing industry in Newmarket and have done so for the last 20 years. Whilst I am in favour of sustainable renewable energy schemes I am against the proposed Sunnica Solar Farm application for the following reasons:- 1. A 2,500 acre industrial solar farm on greenfield land, which is 11 times bigger than any other operational solar farm in the UK is fundamentally wrong. 2. The damage to the horse racing industry in Newmarket. Potential and existing owners/investors to the industry currently chose Newmarket as the location to breed and train racehorses due to it's worldwide reputation in providing facilities, in particular racehorse training grounds, which are of the highest calibre. Newmarket offers owners a unique combination of gallops which have been in use since the early 18th century and the ability to watch the training of the horses on the gallops, in particular the Limekilns. The Limekilns are of exceptional quality offering a grass gallop of 1 1/2 miles in length on which owners and others can enjoy the spectacle of watching the training of racehorses. The landscape backdrop to the Limekilns is extremely important in itself, and from the north side of the gallops the view is currently one of open countryside with no industrial features. If the Sunnica proposal is approved this view would be one of acres of solar panels which are incapable of significant mitigation to cause it to be unseen. Such a situation would deter future investors in wishing to have their horses trained in Newmarket. 3. Furthermore, the extensive building works in particular traffic movements both during the construction period and thereafter for a site of this size would be extremely harmful to both the horse racing industry, but also those who live in the villages surrounding the solar farm. The local infrastructure would be hugely impacted due to the heavy machinery and workforce required to build and run the site, and as a result it would change a quiet rural environment into an urban industrial area. 4. West Suffolk District Council is due to go out to consultation within the next month on its Local Plan for the next 20 years. Surely a site of this size and nature should be part of the Local Plan consultation? The application as it stands is completely unplanned from a district and county perspective. 5. The 77 acres of Lithium-ion battery storage compounds are a huge fire risk, which threaten the safety of those living and working nearby. 6. The loss of 2,500 acres of good quality irrigated vegetable growing farmland; the UK cannot afford to lose this land, particularly as there is no guarantee the land can be returned to it's former agricultural use after 40 years.