Representation by Maurice Waterworth
- Date submitted
- 3 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The huge scale of this development is disproportionate to a rural area near villages, particularly Essendine. It would convert our countryside into an industrial site covering 2,105 acres, of which 1,312 acres will be solar panels, then remaining land with inverters/transformers and a new sub-station. The loss of productive farmland will affect our food security for the next half century, at a time when UK food production is coming under international pressure. This project would be in an unsuitable location, as the construction would inevitably adversely affect the nearby villages - firstly the construction noise, then the ongoing noise from the operation of the sub-station, plus all additional traffic. This is a rural area, but it is not a remote region. People’s homes are close to much of the planned area and this will impinge on their quality of life. Although the solar farm would apparently have a 40 year life, what plans are in place to restore the land afterwards - and who bears the cost? Will it be Mallard Pass Solar Farm? Or will it be Windel Energy and Canadian Solar? It would seem that these two firms have questionable backgrounds already, for example links to Uyghur forced labour by [redacted], and have had shipments seized by the US Government, and who have also had associated energy companies sanctioned by the US Commerce Dept. Why would the UK Government entrust UK energy supply to such a company?