Representation by Frederick Ellis
- Date submitted
- 19 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Dear Planning inspectorate, I am totally opposed to inefficient solar farms and battery storage on UK farmland, this country does not have the land and there is far too much competition to accomodate this type of project. Solar panels could be fitted on many more suitable locations such as warehouse roofing or on old power station sites etc.? Farmland solar is pure folly! The Cottam solar project is of deep concern due to its visibility from the B1398 and the undulating nature of the land chosen, the area especially around Cottam 1 is quite stunning and is an excellent wildlife and bird watching area which I visit often, turning up rare and unusual species such as 3 species of Harrier, 5 species of Owl, Red Kite, Merlin and Hobby to name just a few. Bio diversity would be severely impacted due the loss of open fields and the variety provided by the changing seasons on the agricultural landscape, as well as the hundreds of miles of wire security fencing that would restrict mammal and game bird movements. In an area with an healthy population of Deer and Brown Hare, the developers humble planting proposals would not stand a chance. Standard protection would be useless, more involved and expensive systems would be required which I have seen no mention of and I doubt would be correctly policed over such vast areas? Isolating large areas of countryside from browsing animals would localise and intensify grazing, therefore woodland, hedging and new planting would be severely damaged causing biodiversity to swing negatively further ruining the balance of eco systems and the beauty of our ever changing natural world. Quail numbers here have just started recovering after generations of decline. The proposed solar panel height is proposterous in open countryside. I cannot see how the visual impact of panels up to 15 feet could ever be mitigated. On this scale a dystopian landscape would be created! The huge Cottam solar project is classed as a NSIP with 3 more NSIPs also planned for the area. How can this be so? The Cottam solar project is 20km from Cottam power station? Surely a single area cannot have all this industrialisation forced upon it and its landscape permanently ravaged without socio-economic benefit? It is hard to comprehend and indeed explain to others the enormity of these proposals all in just one area. We must have faith in that you and your team to will consider all the facts of what would be crushing and unfair consequences on these communities.