Representation by Joanne Taylor
- Date submitted
- 28 March 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The Cottam site, will cover 3048 acres and taking into account the other projects proposed - Gate Burton, West Burton and Tillbridge - will cover around 10000 acres in total, all in a small Lincolnshire District. These projects should be viewed as a whole to appreciate the environmental and visual impact on the area. Lincolnshire is strongly agricultural and the land is used to grow food, both for humans and animals, and is needed given the threat to food security and the cost of living crisis. The solar panels are huge and will be made in China. How can we square that with any dubious environmental benefits? The solar panels will not produce enough power to justify this assault on our land - it’s not honest to base power production on the sun always shining. Nothing will grow beneath them because of their size. The glossy brochures are simply greenwashing - these companies are focussed on maximising profits. Our wildlife and birds will be adversely affected. The more complex, stable and healthy the habitat, the more native species it will support. Solar companies traditionally mow or spray insecticides on solar parks which destroy insects and kill plants. If you put grazing animals on parks, as an alternative, you will destroy the life-cycle of many species of butterfly. Fences around the parks will prevent the movement of wildlife and prevent their usual hunting and foraging habits, leading to a loss of species in the area. Solar farms are not subject to the same regulations as conventional farming, leading to increased potential for harm to land, wildlife and birds. The land proposed may have been downgraded to suggest it is suitable land for solar panels - landowners have not allowed independent testing of soil. The solar park industry looks like a sector that greenwashes its unacceptable environmental face to assuage the misgivings of councils and locals. The proposed Cottam park, and the others in the area, are industrialisation of our farmland. I cannot understand why brownfield sites and roofs, particularly those on factories that can directly power the factories themselves, are not being proposed. This would be the sensible way forward, rather than destroying productive farmland, ruining our countryside and destroying wildlife habitat.