Representation by Georgia Bremner
- Date submitted
- 27 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Mallard Pass - Beautiful untouched part of the countryside, surrounded my solar panels will be so unsightly - Such a vast area - I’m all for renewable energy and preserving the environment but I don’t feel changing good agricultural land is where it should be - Back British farming/regenerative agriculture, should this not be a focus in the UK? Can we really afford to lose productive agricultural land at a time when we need to be more self reliant and protect our long term food security? -Farming family, we will be neighbours to the solar panels, my sister and I will be the third generation farmers, seeing our beautiful part of the countryside surrounded is heartbreaking. -What about the wildlife being driven out? -How can we look to encourage the next generation in farming, food production, and educating the wider population when covering the land in panels? -How can we diversify when we will be surrounded by panels? -Public footpaths will be covered, how can people use them? How can the countryside be enjoyed? The scenery won’t be seen? -Can this size of enterprise not be built on disused areas such as old air fields/forces bases where there is already an infrastructure and security. Or on motorways? Industrial estates? The roofs of all warehousing? -There are other options for renewable energy other than ground mount large scale solar farms – residential and commercial rooftop solar, on and off-shore wind (3-4 times more efficient than solar), and other emerging technologies -How can a solar farm that takes 2 years to build is not going to damage the environment and habitat in some way? The traffic/upheaval this will cause. -It will increase vandalism and theft which will impact the villages -Devalue property and land prices in the area as who would want to live next to them? -Can we guarantee at the end of its life that future generations won’t be left with a solar graveyard? Look at other decommissioned energy plants and see how much land has been returned to its former state. -increased flood risk