Representation by Lindley Fiona MacMahon
- Date submitted
- 27 April 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Bishopton is a conservation area which I have lived in for 56 years. we have lived in 3 houses in the village and now have the privilege to live in a lovely old property with exceptional views over open countryside. If this project goes ahead this will all change. The village will be surrounded by grey fields of solar panels where once was agricultural land growing many different crops and grazing animals. this will completely change the area from countryside to industrial. Not only will Bishopton be surrounded but other solar panel projects which have already been granted permission and as we go out of the village we will also be viewing fields covered in grey panels. The cumulative effect will be horrendous. Bishopton has always been a farming community and in recent years lots of liveries and horse businesses have joined them. The suggestion of screening will be completely wasted on me as I will probably be dead before anything has grown to any such maturity that it will mitigate the devastation caused to the landscape. I am extremely concerned about the proposal to put the cables through the village. It is all well and good to say that the developers preferred route is over the fields but as this has not been agreed then I believe that the planning inspectorate must make their decision based on the route being through the centre of Bishopton. This proposal is horrendous. The road is very narrow in places (right outside our house it is at its narrowest). Cars park on the road all the time due to lack of parking at houses. The village school means that parents have to find somewhere to park morning and evening and travelling at that time is extremely difficult. This is a village that has considerable traffic going through it at commuter times and that in itself causes problems for residents never mind with the proposed construction vehicles and works involved in routing the cables. What happens if our property which is classed 'as being of significant interest' is damaged by the works going on a mere 12 feet away from our boundary wall. The house itself is only a maximum of 20 ft away. As most people will say there is nothing wrong with solar panels but they must be put in the right place and it is our duty to preserve the history of this country and not go round spoiling it.