Representation by Cllr Jessie Milne
- Date submitted
- 26 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
As the Councillor for Lea ward, I write in support of many elderly people and everyone in my ward on the impact this application will have if it goes ahead. Loss of Livelihood of Tenant Farmers, Bed and Breakfast, Holiday Lets, HolidayLodges,and Caravan Parks, The value of people's homes is already being affected by people pulling out of house sales. Mental health, This is already taking its toll on very sick people as they will no longer be able to stroll around their villages and enjoy the peace and quiet, listen to the birds sing, observe the Deer, Foxes, Badgers the many different species of bird life both overwintering and resident species as well as the flora and fauna on the verges which will be devastated as these great big lorries churn up the grass verges because the majority of these country lanes are narrow with blind bends and narrow verges. Tourism. All that will be seen for miles and miles around will be 4.5-meter-high glass panels. People visit this area because of our Big Skies, so tourism will be very badly affected many residents who have come to live in this area are now trying to move but no one wants to buy houses around here anymore. Tenant Farmers. Tenant farmers will lose their living and in some cases their homes, there is already a problem with farmers committing suicide, this will push more of them to the brink, I have already seen some in tears who have spent their lives working the land to put food on the table for this country and now it will all go under glass for 50 or 60 years leaving the land as a brownfield site, in other words, industrialisation. These solar panels cannot be destroyed so, therefore, have to go to landfill leaving 10.000 acres of wasteland good for nothing. Batteries. The size of the Lithium batteries alone is massive needing a substantial building to hold them all, of course, the implications to health should these batteries ignite as they have been known to do, they are unstable and the pollutants they give off are highly poisonous which does not bear thinking about. Flooding. Many areas in my Ward already have flooding issues the compacted soil that will be left when these panels have been transported and erected on site will cause even more problems for homeowners some of whom have suffered from flooding for years after any heavy rainfall. I shudder at the thought of spending even more hours helping the residents to overcome the trauma of water in their homes. Businesses The various businesses who supply the farms with machinery, seed, fertiliser. help harvest the crops and deal with the corn , potatoes, sugar beet animal foods and so much more will all suffer. A disaster waiting to happen. I cannot sit back I have to support all those residents and anyone that will be affected in any way. I have every intention to fight to the bitter end against this outrage. Cllr Jessie Milne The The company whose job it is to sell the idea of these monstrosities to the residents are disingenuous they make promises and then renege on them, promising Parish Councils there will be a million pounds, just tell us what you want, I challenged them on this and it turns out there may be a million maybe not and it will be over a period of ten years and 5 parish councils will have to decide where the money will be spent, 5 out of 30 parishes. They have also stated that there will be NO cheap electricity to those who suffer from these panels, in fact, there is No benefit at all to anyone, just their whole lifestyle in tatters I was present when they met up with residents who already have a flooding issue, they looked at the fields directly behind their properties and said to the residents, " well we won't put any in this field and that field " as reassurance, but as they left they said "if (they) "agree" in other words the promises were of no account. If you question the solar representatives you never get an answer no matter how many times you ask the question, people get frustrated and very angry, they feel they are of no account and treat them with disdain with their banal replies in other words there just there to sell it to the residents and when they achieve their aim will walk away with their money and leave disaster behind them. When I asked one of the representatives why they chose this area the response was" we just drove around looking for likely sites" that is how much thought went into this, plus they have been going around people trying to find out whether they own the land or not and some of the elderly have been very upset by their attitude and by all the mail they have received, they are giving the implication that this solar project is already a done deal, that is how devious they are, so many times I have been told this by residents when I speak with them. I am appalled. They have also searched the Land Registry and tried to claim grounds that are in the ownership of residents. Call meetings at village halls that have not been published, in the name of consultation which they know counts towards the application succeeding. unscrupulous. Of course, they will make money by selling these fields of food-producing farmland to British Airways or some other conglomerate that wants to offset their carbon footprint. I find the whole thing beyond belief, I am not saying we don't have a use for solar energy but there are so many better places for them to be placed, this country's population is growing ever greater day by day and all of these incumbents will need feeding on what? It is time for some serious thinking to take place and for peoples perspective, to what other sites could be used there are plenty of spaces out there that have no effect on people or their lives.