Representation by Edmond Mahony
- Date submitted
- 16 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I have worked within the racing industry in Newmarket for over 30 years, and while I am in favour of sustainable renewable energy schemes I am opposed to the proposed Sunnica Solar Farm application for the following reasons:- 1. An industrial solar farm on greenfield land, of this scale (2500 acres which is 11 times bigger than any other operational solar farm in the UK) is clearly excessive and in entirely the wrong location. 2. This solar farm would damage Newmarket as the UK’s headquarters of thoroughbred racing and breeding. Investors to the industry choose Newmarket as the location to breed and train racehorses due to the facilities on offer, in particular the town’s world famous racehorse training grounds, which include the Limekilns. This is a historic grass gallop which has been used for this purpose since the early 18th century. The landscape which surrounds the Limekilns currently offers scenic views of open countryside with no industrial features. If the Sunnica proposal is approved this unspoiled view would be replaced with the industrial, urbanized appearance created by acres of solar panels. This would deter investors in the racing industry from choosing Newmarket and would gradually erode the very industry which makes the town of Newmarket so special and unique. This, in turn, would cause irreversible harm to the local economy and employment within the town. 3. The solar farm would threaten the use of the Limekilns and Chippenham Park Gallops by horses due to the glare, noise and potential static electricity created by the solar panels. 4. West Suffolk District Council is due to commence consultation within the next month in regard to its Local Plan for the next 20 years. Surely a site of this size and nature should form part of the Local Plan consultation. The application as it currently stands is entirely unplanned from a district and county perspective. 5. Given the immense size and scale of the proposed solar farm, the traffic movements both during the construction period and thereafter would be harmful to the racing industry and to all those who live in the villages surrounding the solar farm. The local infrastructure would be significantly impacted due to the heavy machinery and workforce involved in the building and ongoing running of the site, and would result in this quiet, rural area being transformed into a busy, urban setting. 6. The proposed 77 acres of Lithium-ion battery storage compounds represent a significant fire risk, and therefore a threat to the safety of anyone who lives and works nearby. 7. Finally, it is impossible to justify the loss of 2,500 acres of high quality irrigated vegetable growing farmland, particularly in the current era when the country’s food security is of paramount importance. The UK cannot afford to lose this land, especially given that there is no guarantee that it will be possible to return the land to its former agricultural use after 40 years.