Representation by Robert Palmer
- Date submitted
- 15 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
My objections to the Sunnica Solar Farm are: 1. Inappropriate Size and Scale: Solar farms have an industrial appearance but where they have been installed in smaller and more appropriately located areas, it is possible to incorporate them into the rural setting without resulting in significant harm. For example, the existing nearby solar farm at Bay Farm, Worlington is an appropriate size and scale that has been positioned with regard to its rural context and utilising existing landscaping features to minimise its visual impact. In contrast, the sheer scale of the proposed Sunnica solar farm will be visually intrusive and incongruent to the rural character of the area. Losing such a large area of countryside immediately surrounding rural villages will be detrimental to all residents living within the locality as well as visitors to the area. The position of the proposed solar farm will be visually dominant from a number of local footpaths and public roads, thus local residents will have to travel further afield to escape the industrial dominance of this excessive amount of solar panels. 2. Loss of Agricultural Land: The loss of good quality agricultural land is a concern, at a time when we should be promoting British agriculture and becoming more self-sufficient as a nation. Surely, solar farms on a smaller scale and located on sites that are lower quality in terms of agricultural production and/or incorporated into farms alongside crop or livestock production would be a more sustainable option? 3. Risk of Battery Fires and Harm to Health: The proposed storage batteries are of significant concern and there appears to be no risk assessment or details of mitigation measures should a fire start within these battery storage compounds, as has happened in other countries with terrible repercussions for anyone living nearby. If the solar farm were to go ahead, ideally on a smaller scale than proposed, can there be any assurances that a potential fire in the battery storage compounds would not be harmful to the health of local residents or to the local environment and biodiversity?