Representation by Dorne Carole Johnson
- Date submitted
- 12 March 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Gate Burton energy is just one of four large scale solar park proposals in this area which will be coming through – some already have, the first being Cottam Solar. Due to the devastation and impact this is going to have on the area, well being, habitat and farming these projects should be assessed as one. This energy park proposal is 3500 acres and with the other 3 makes a proposal of 10,000 acres this is large scale industrialisation. All this land is food producing and should not be lost because of food security. These solar panels would be far better placed on roof tops to keep our agricultural land in production saving the jobs and skills in agriculture. The loss of this land will have a devastating effect on the GDP of Lincolnshire, from suppliers to farms, farmers and their workforce and families. It will be devastating to the well being of the locals most who have lived in Lincolnshire all their lives and it will not level up the North but bring this area down in prosperity. This proposal will be highly visible from the country lanes and property. Some properties are going to be completely surrounded by this. This is an area of National Heritage and it will completely take away the views and enjoyment of its population. This will bring one of the Worlds largest battery energy storage systems and is a potential fire and chemical risk to life and property. This would be far better put closer to the grid on brownfield sites. Farmland should not at all be used for this type of infrastructure. The whole scheme has not at all been well thought out for suitability of where it is placed and has just been proposed on what is thought to be easy availability. This should not be placed on this type of land as it really does not consider the environment and wildlife and greenspace in any way. We should be pushing for this type of infrastructure to go on brownfield sites, commercial roof tops and houses!!! The length of time and construction period will be devastating to the local area, There has been no thought to the countryside, and mental health and well being of the population. The consultations on these projects were very poor and the truth about what really is coming is only just coming out. The developer did not engage with the public in good faith. The role that solar power can play in renewable energy is very limited because it provides power intermittently and gives least power when we really need it. This therefore means that the scale of the land this is taking versus the power it is generating does not make any sense at all to take farm producing land of this scale for so little energy production and devastation to the local area. This to me is not an ethically sound proposal for us to agree either. The labour is likely to be brought in from overseas to complete these projects and the product/apparatus is likely to be sourced from China. Will the human rights of these workers be respected? I really do not understand why we do not have a strict planning policy to save our farming land for farming to help food security and push this type of project to roof tops and Brownfield sites.