Representation by Mrs Jennifer Trawford
- Date submitted
- 27 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am writing to reiterate my objections to the proposed Mallard park solar development on land near Essendine and surrounding villages .I have attended all the meetings in respect of this next stage of the development and nothing has adequately arisen to allay my concerns . Therefore I wish to resubmit my objection. While the need for more sustainable energy is crucial and the timing of putting forward this particular proposal on the back of the recent summit is lost on no one however it is quite clearly the wrong development in the wrong place. The sheer scale of the proposal is vast and to place it in an agricultural area bounded by so many established and expanding villages in addition to the ancient town of Stamford is totally unacceptable . The impact it would have on the area would be catastrophic. Huge areas of excellent productive agricultural land would be permanently lost which is absolutely foolhardy at a time when it is more important than ever that our nation should be striving to become more self sufficient in food production. It is my understanding that government continues to favour the redevelopment of brown field sites before decimating green ones and there are certainly many such sites scattered across Lincolnshire as a result of it's wartime aviation activities several of which have already been successfully redeveloped for similar energy projects. The natural biodiversity of this area is outstanding with many species of native animals and birds established and thriving in these open areas and ancient woodlands . Suggesting that a development of this nature would " boost local wildlife diversity " is simply ridiculous. The whole ecology of the area would be lost which seems to be the very opposite of a green approach. Locally there is great concern about the effect the proposed development would have upon the flood risk of the area. Much of the proposed development would cover a natural flood plane and it would be naive to imagine that the vast number of panels will not alter the pattern of drainage . The villages surrounding the proposed development have been overwhelmed by flooding several times over the past years and it is a situation already worsening year on year even before any additional risk that the proposed development might bring. The impact of this development would have immense detrimental effects on the amenities and livelihoods of the people living in the villages in the area . The disruption of the construction phase would be appallingly disruptive and beyond that our countryside environment would be gone . The well used footpaths and bridleways that are now more important to peoples lives than ever before would be reduced to walkways between steel stockades which would be no more useable to people than to the animals whose territories once crossed the fields. The animals would be long gone and people taken to their cars to access open spaces elsewhere . It appears that the attraction of this particular area is due in part to the accessible connection that could be made to the national grid near Ryhall and what many local people are suggesting is that an alternative development of more modest scale using wind turbines would be a much more suitable proposal for the area. There is a successful wind farm just a few miles away at Deeping St Nicholas and Lincolnshire is well know for delivering consistently windy weather . Wind turbines could deliver the required energy without destroying the land , farming could continue , ecology would adapt and people could could continue to enjoy the amenity of the countryside they live in surely this would be the more suitable technology to deploy for this area . While everyone understands the need for clean sustainable energy it should not be at the cost of destroying our environment the very thing we are trying to preserve. Yours sincerely Mrs Jennifer Trawford [Redacted]