Representation by Worlington Parish Council (Worlington Parish Council )
- Date submitted
- 15 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
Worlington Parish Council Rejects to the proposed Sunnica solar farm for many reasons some of which are listed below. General – the developer has provided insufficient information on many areas to allow a proper evaluation of the impact. All our emailed questions submitted to Sunnica, have gone unanswered, to date. • Traffic disruption; the 2-3 years of construction, will present safety issues for residents. Worlington is divided by a village road with no crossings at any point. The Sunnica scheme will create around 1682 staff vehicle journeys and 202 HGV journeys daily, for 6 days a week. There is also concern of staff parking. • Historic and listed buildings; Due to installation and traffic movements, there is concern for our historical/ listed buildings in Worlington including but not exclusively the war memorial and 59 The Street. • Connection to other villages disrupted during the 2-3 years of construction, road closures and temporary traffic lights. • Ongoing noise and dust pollution both during construction and when in use. • Possible run off pollution to chalk streams both during and after construction. • Loss of farm land, Loss of food security, loss of employment in the farming industry. • Village & Farming heritage destroyed changing a centuries old farming community into an industrial area. • No obvious community benefits despite the well-being of residents put at risk. • Yet to be established if it is carbon neutral. Sunnica claim the site will be carbon neutral in 2-3 years after operation begins, yet there is little evidence to this and will be disputed. • Green spaces and recreational areas being taken away including Green Lane Drove (U6006). Green lane is part of the ancient and historic Icknield Way. Lined with ancient trees and hedgerows. Despite its history, no archaeological survey appears to have been undertaken along this route. • Flora and fauna Significant disruption to wildlife, potential loss / displacement of rare and protected species. • Visual impact this scheme is too large and too spread out. Out of the four routes that enter/exit Worlington, 3 will be effected visually by this scheme. For our residents this will impact them daily. Sunnica’s plans for mitigation is inadequate • Decommissioning Sunnica are yet to provide any reassurance the area will be fully decommissioned. • Battery safety risk to residents from toxic fumes as current legislation regarding batteries are insufficient for such large scale battery installations, Worlington is ‘sandwiched’ in close proximity to 2 of the large BESS compounds. Sunnica are yet to provide sufficient details so this risk is unquantifiable. • Misrepresentation documents and maps are very misleading in size and scale. Inadequate consultation with residents during statutory consultation and lack of reply to emailed questions. This scheme has a 40 year life expectancy, which is far longer than the expected life expectancy of a solar farm. BESS life expectancy's is even less. [Redacted]