Representation by Lullington Parish Meeting (Lullington Parish Meeting)
- Date submitted
- 21 April 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Lullington Parish meeting Concerns regarding NSIP Oakland reference EN010122 In summary there are significant concerns regarding: 1. The significant loss of best & most versatile agricultural land (BMV) – A status applicable to some 60% of the land affected by the proposal and hugely concerning in the context of the need for increased food security and the expansion of more environmentally sustainable farming methods. 2. Inadequate proposed decommissioning activity to enable affected land to be returned to BMV at the end of the stated project life making the loss referred to at 1 effectively permanent. 3. The risk of an overseas investor extracting profits from the UK throughout the operational life of the project and failing to fund the extensive decommissioning costs at the end of the project. 4. The significant landscape and visual impact of the development (exacerbated by the enormous scale and 40 year duration of the proposal) 5. The increased urbanisation of the countryside. 6. The increased risk of local flooding in an already vulnerable area 7. The risk of groundwater contamination from lithium battery storage 8. The glint and glare impact of the project and unacceptable impact of proposed mitigation 9. The absence of suitable and safe transport links to enable the project It is our view that all of these matters warrant very close scrutiny and challenge during the planning process. There are, in addition, widespread concerns regarding the environmental and geo-political impacts of large scale solar installations associated with the mining of lithium for the associated battery storage and the questionable human rights and environmental standards of overseas panel producers. A further, more general, concern is an apparent lack of a clear national strategic and planning framework regarding the trade-off between the mutually exclusive priorities of green energy and green food production. Helen Bailey Lullington Parish Chair