Representation by Neal Adams
- Date submitted
- 5 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing to you to highlight my concerns over the proposed MP solar farm & why I believe the Secretary of State for BEIS should turn down the proposal. 1. The proposed 2,238 acre site will take away top quality arable farmland for at least 40 years. 2. The carbon footprint of such a project would be enormous with any ramifications & details being circumnavigated through the conveniently vague “Rochdale Envelope” planning guidelines. 3. The solar panels would be produced in China & not here in the UK thus providing no employment, revenue or taxes to this country. 4. My mental wellbeing will be severely affected, as the area I currently cycle & hike in will be blighted by unsightly structures. 5. The local deer herd will lose 2,238 acres of potential grazing & migratory routes leading to a significant risk of more driving accidents & fatalities as the deer try to navigate onto open farmland. 6. The future value of my property will be severely affected, as the proposed MP will naturally result in a less attractive area to reside in for future would-be residents. 7. The “Key Benefit” claims being made by MP are disingenuous. a. The potential to power 92,000 homes is utterly misleading. The maximum power output is 350 MW with 11 MW being a more realistic figure on an average winters day. b. MP wouldn’t take 35,700 cars off the roads. The carbon footprint is just being exported to the other side of the world: China. c. The local residents wouldn’t obtain low cost energy. It would be cheap & profitable for MP to produce but the energy would go into the national grid & people would still face ever-increasing tariffs. d. MP couldn’t possibly support “green spaces”; they’re intending to take 2,238 acres out of circulation from the outset. I hope you will agree that the scale of this project (8 times larger than the current largest UK solar site) is unprecedented & would have a severely negative impact on the lives of local people & on the local habitat in the area of the proposed MP site. I, therefore, request that the Secretary of State BEIS does not support this project & that planning permission to MP is refused.