Representation by Lindsay Lewis
- Date submitted
- 14 May 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
If the war in Ukraine has taught us anything, it is that we need to be producing more of our own food, not less. The proposed development will result in the loss of a considerable amount of productive agricultural land which should be used for crops not solar panels. Whilst it is important that we look to sustainable sources of energy, there are other ways of doing this without relinquishing fertile agricultural land. Brownfield sites, solar panels on new builds and on factory buildings are all options. A recent report shows that, for the first time, wind power has become a main source of electricity. Loss of agricultural land will result in fewer jobs in the farming and food industries. We will need to import yet more of our food; in a cost of living crisis and in a geopolitically changing world, do we really need to be doing this? Then there is the effect more locally; fields covered in glass and steel will have an impact on mental and physical health as people worry about employment, food, house prices and the long term effect of the loss of this land. There are many other options; please reconsider a development on this scale.