Representation by Ellie Middleton
- Date submitted
- 29 March 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am shocked by the scale of this planned construction and astounded at the prospect of 3 similar applications which will destroy up to 10,000 acres of good farmland. Why are these applications not being considered as a whole, is this a ploy to hide the enormously negative impact they will have? We are at a time of food shortages highlighting the lack of food security in the UK. We should be increasing land for environmentally friendly farming not destroying it. I approve of renewable energy including solar, however, the place for solar is on every suitable roofspace not on farmland or environmentally sensitive land. How many rooves both domestic and business both local and national have been clothed in panels. Until the majority are, we should not destroy farm, wildlife or human habitats for private gain. Lincolnshire is limited in its ability to contribute to environmental improvement yet here we are considering the destruction of land, grasses, hedgerows, trees. Where will the insects, small mammals, birds, deer, owls, hares live, what will they live on. We now know that humanity cannot survive without these creatures and there are plans nationally and locally to support nature and rewilding yet here we are considering laying waste to green landscapes. I question whether any consideration has been given to the genuine suitability of this land for this project. It is miles from the grid, it is not brownfield, it is close to residential areas, it is food growing and nature supportive -in what way is it suitable for massive concrete and glass structures. I suspect it is merely apparently easily available and I question why. I fear the knockon effects of this and the other projects. Years of construction which will damage and lay waste to far more areas than just the panel area. The pollution of construction materials, lorries and machines fumes, noise - all this will further damage the environment some of which will then not recover and this does not begin to examine the impact on human residents. I do not believe panels, connectors and batteries are safe on the scale of this and the other 3 projects. They are known to catch fire, they are known to contain dangerous chemicals that can kill anything living, this is terrifying. We are suffering increasing wildfires in drought Summers, increasing flood risks, how can these structures be safe anywhere let alone near people. I am imagining I Summer standing on Hemswell Cliff and instead of the green and varied beauty of the current landscape seeing the blinding glare of sunlight from acre upon acre of massive panels and knowing not only that ugliness and danger but the galling truth that it won't even be giving energy at night or most evenings or on very dull days. I question the value to our community of losing food, losing wildlife, polluting our air, losing agricultural jobs now and for the future to put in structures not even made here but by a country known to exploit its vulnerable people in the same way this developer wants to exploit and destroy our precious local environment for money which will probably not even stay in this country. The developer has minimised and glossed over these issues in their determination to make private gains. Will this land, which currently gives so much in many ways, be owned by the developers? In a relatively few short years when the panels are outdated, what will happen to this and the other parcels of up to 10,000 acres? Will it be permanently industrialised, totally destroying our current community environment, making at a stroke devastating changes that might have otherwise taken decades to happen and precluding other gentler, sustainable, greener and community-friendly creations