Representation by St Margaret's Church Chippenham Parochial Church Council (St Margaret's Church Chippenham Parochial Church Council)
- Date submitted
- 17 March 2022
- Submitted by
- Non-statutory organisations
We, The Parochial Church Council of St Margaret’s Church in Chippenham oppose the Sunnica Industrial Solar Development in the strongest possible terms. Our church has been around for over 900 years and is a Grade 1 listed building. It always has been a rural church surrounded by a rural farming community. The Parish at its southern and western extremities borders upon the historic and famous Limekiln Gallops, which have been ridden on for some 400 years, and from which the views extend across the Fens to Ely Cathedral. This view will be obliterated if solar panels and batteries are constructed adjacent to this. As the Minister for Levelling up says, “Beauty is at the heart of any planning process”. And the ruination of nearly 3000 acres of countryside with massive solar panels and concentration camp style fencing surrounding the whole plant goes against that. Chippenham is situated within a conservation area, and Sunnica will spend in excess of two years constructing this 3000 acre plant, which will have a significant negative impact upon the local population as in excess of 200 HGV journeys will thunder through our village each day. Sunnica proposes 77 acres of toxic batteries but ignores the significant danger to the local population, and the valuable bloodstock industry, should any one of the batteries catch fire. It is well established that these fires exhibit thermal run-away and cannot be extinguished. They have no risk assessment, and no public liability insurance to pay for mass evacuation and subsequent reparation (c 30,000 people within 7 sq km). These batteries will likely only hold up to 5 minutes of supply to the Grid, with significant wastage given the distance from the substation. So will be largely ineffective and do not justify the disproportionately high risk. Sunnica has clearly underestimated the quality of the agricultural land, but it is common knowledge that the land in the area is valuable productive farming land. With food security being so important, it would be wrong to turn it into a brownfield industrial site. Further, the farming industry provides local employment, which will disappear if the solar industrial plant is built. Sunnica will only employ 27 people, and these will unlikely be local. Sunnica has no plans for decommissioning at the end of the useful life, and no bond is forthcoming. (c £140 million) Most of the solar-grade polysilicon and ancillary equipment emanates from the Uyghur Region in China, where slave labour in used. Any procurement from there will be in contravention of the Modern Slavery Act of 2015. Sunnica claims that its industrial plant will be carbon neutral. It won’t be. The carbon usage in importing components and the construction will be so high, as to make it unlikely for it to ever happen. It will not contribute to the net-zero target. This is based upon research undertaken by a respected English University. Conversely, productive arable farmland is highly carbon-efficient and is a vital carbon sink.