Representation by John Millard
- Date submitted
- 28 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I appreciate that solar energy may need to form a part of the non-fossil energy supply in the UK in the future. However this proposed scheme creates a number of its own problems and missed opportunities. I have been told (by the developers) that the proposed scheme site was chosen as it needs to be near a suitable electricity sub-station. However I am sure that there are a number of now (or soon to be) disused coal fired power station sites which will already have sub-stations attached and will be on brownfield sites ( probably contaminated, so they will not easily be useable for either housing or agriculture). Additionally, a brief examination of an aerial photo of the current industrial site at Essendine, adjacent to the proposed site, shows no evidence that any of the existing warehouses have any solar panels on their roofs. Surely, before we start using large greenfield sites for solar energy, the large amount of old ( and especially new ) warehouse roofing around the country should be covered in solar panels. The proposed location lies to the north east of Stamford. The major supply road (A1) goes north/south along the west of Stamford. The construction phase will no doubt require a large number of HGV movements. With no proper east/west bypass, the transport links through Stamford (and the surrounding villages) in an easterly direction are particularly poor for heavy goods vehicles. Any traffic surveys (in progress or planned) should consider not only the additional HGV traffic but also any knock-on effects on local traffic trying to avoid construction traffic by using other "rat runs". Finally, for those in central government who will be deciding the Development Consent Order, perhaps they should consider the size of this site (852 hectares = 2105 acres) on a London scale. By my calculations this is roughly equivalent to a site covering ALL the following green areas in London: Regents Park(inc. Primrose Hill), Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park, Greenwich Park and Hampstead Heath.