Representation by Andrea Barnes
- Date submitted
- 1 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The size and scale of Oaklands Solar Park is out of scale with the adjacent villages. The 2 nearest villages - Walton on Trent and Rosliston - would sit within the site. The size of the fences/hedges that will be needed to protect local properties and road users from glare off the panels will mean that the local roads will be even more dangerous as sight lines will be reduced particularly on the tight bends between Walton and Rosliston. The land that has been selected is quality farmland - government policy is against use of such land for solar farms. There is already an existing solar farm on the site of the former Drakelow power station - this site (which represents brownfield site) could be further expanded to increase renewable energy sources. The applicant refers to biodiversity gains - however that would not be the case if sheep were allowed to graze since sheep reduce biodiversity - as witnessed in upland areas. The disruption caused by the construction process and the whole site (including 11km of security fences with multiple CCTV cameras) represents an unacceptable urbanisation of this area of semi-rural S. Derbyshire for the benefit of the landlord and the investment company. The UK needs to expand its renewable energy including solar power and onshore wind but this location and scheme are not the answer to the UK's energy needs in the 21st century.