Representation by Joanne Coulter
- Date submitted
- 27 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In my opinion, the proposal should not go ahead, for the following reasons: The site is using valuable, productive agricultural land. Government policy is clear that ground mounted solar should use previously developed land, contaminated land, industrial land and lower grade agricultural land, not BMV land (over half of which is proposed as the solar farm site is BMV land). Impact on local ecology and wildlife - the many and adverse environmental impacts caused during the two year construction phase and the subsequent decommissioning. The site size is 8 times bigger than the largest solar farm in the UK, and the damage to the now beautiful centuries-old landscape and visual impact of this will be significant. There are many other issues that make the building of this outsized solar farm a really bad idea for our area, including the questions that remain over the huge safety risk of battery storage; the site traffic and transport implications for disruption and environmental damage; the closure of public rights of way and the poor compensation of less than 3 miles of permissive paths; the size of the structures and their noise emissions; the flood risk caused by the surface water run-off from the panels; and the destruction of sites of historical and archeological interest. A particular and personal concern I have is the impact on the local equestrian community, which is signficant in such a rural area. Local bridleways and byways will become impassable for many horses and riders, because of the size and scale of the solar panels and the noise that accompanies them. They will be forced onto the roads, a much less safe place for them. Solar panels are a necessary and essential fact of the future. They belong on all commercial and residential roof tops and brownfield land, not on productive agricultural land.