Representation by Jem Allport
- Date submitted
- 28 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am wholeheartedly against this proposed development. Aside from the obvious sighting of solar panels on roofs rather than prime agricultural land, recent events of this year (Ukraine war and record inflation) can only confirm that ALL agricultural land MUST be maintained and utilised to its optimum if we are to look after the future of this country. Land used for other means will not return to agricultural land. It will be lost and we will have to rely on MORE imports. Just look at recent events of all the food shortages and record inflation. Do you want our country to be beholden to others? Development of any nature on prime agricultural land just should not happen. Surely the solar panels should be put on ALL roofs before taking our prime agricultural land. Does this not sound obvious to you? It does to me. If the electricity generated can power 92,000 homes, why can’t we just put solar panels on these 92,000 homes? The solution to our energy crisis before any fields are taken away is to: 1. Put solar panels on ALL roofs 2. Invest in the battery technology for households to store energy they create I strongly feel this is a knee jerk reaction by a few to secure their personal financial futures at the expense of everybody else. Why give up agricultural land? You can’t grow crops on brownfield sites. Yet you can create electricity from brownfield sites by putting solar panels on them. You can’t grow crops on roofs, yet you can create electricity from them by putting solar panels on them. I can not understand how this application has got this far. We live on a small island. We need to protect every inch and think long and hard what each inch is used for. That’s why our planning policies are ‘usually’ the envy of the world. Having traveled to many places around the world I am incredibly proud of my country for how it is managed. This proposal must be stopped otherwise a damaging precedent will be set and this great country will find itself on a slippery slope that it can ill afford to be on. In addition to the WHERE solar panels should be housed, the proposed development of Mallard Pass causes alarm to me as a local resident for the reason of increased flooding. I have lived in our house for 12 years and last year was the first time we have been flooded. This, I believe, is a result of global warming and vital agricultural fields are needed to absorb as much water as possible as opposed to the water running off and creating the possibilities of flooding in local areas. I hope these words are listened to.