Representation by Suzanne Passey
- Date submitted
- 18 April 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Oaklands NSIP Solar Farm EN010122 We would like to express our disapproval and horror at the intrusive plan to impose this industrial project on the quiet and productive agricultural area between Rosliston and Walton. Most importantly, this is an area of good agricultural production and as such must be making a positive contribution to the food security of our nation, not least because we understand that as well as the immediate loss of the valuable acreage, in the long term it is highly unlikely that the land can be returned to good food production because of the adverse effects of the construction process and the consequent damage to drainage and the loss of valuable minerals etc which lie in the soil. It will be a permanent loss to the food production chain. The construction period will inevitably have a terrible impact on the narrow lanes in the area which have difficulty coping at present with the current traffic and on which the weight limits that do exist are regularly ignored by the drivers of large and heavy vehicles (which, no doubt, will be the type of transport used by the contractors). The present condition of the lanes, with all their craters and potholes, will deteriorate substantially because of the extra weighty machines and these lorries will make travel for local inhabitants even more perilous than it now is. The roads can only worsen and become more dangerous. This is an area of traditional rural beauty which will be blighted by the introduction of these solar panels. The green fields and growing crops will be marred by the industrial sight of acres of panels which obscure the fertile pastures and reflect and dazzle those who live, work and walk in the local villages. It would seem to us far more sensible and acceptable to encourage (and legislate for) a spread of smaller sites located over a much wider area. A second alternative that should be considered is to insist that all new buildings, both industrial and domestic, are built with solar panels. At present, large areas of warehouse rooves and thousands of new estate houses are being built without the panels. If this were to be changed, it would help to protect our national heritage of beautiful and productive farmland. Finally and incidentally, the map does not seem to show the route of the “new permissive path” which is supposed to “improve connectivity through the site for pedestrians between Rosliston and Walton”. Suzanne and Andrew Passey