Representation by Rachel Herron
- Date submitted
- 27 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In response to the statutory consultation, I wish to express my objections to the scheme for the following reasons. 1. The proposed site is largely high grade agricultural land which is needed for food production, especially now given the problems arising from the war in Ukraine. Government policy states that solar development should be limited to residential, industrial and brownfield sites. 2. The area is important for biodiversity and public amenity. The more so since proposed large scale residential development in the area already implies loss of habitat and countryside, making it even more important to preserve what remains. 3. The supposed justification for the scheme on the basis of its ‘green’ credentials is tokenistic. The UK is not the best place for large scale solar developments given the relatively low and unreliable light levels and the high land values. Solar in the UK is better limited to smaller residential and industrial installations where these objections are less relevant. We do have an abundance of potential wind and water based renewables that could be developed instead, without the loss of agriculture and biodiversity.