Representation by Peter Graham Latham
- Date submitted
- 29 April 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to comment about the proposed buiding of the solar panel 'farm' around the area of my address and surrounding area. I object on the following grounds: 1) The extent of the buid i. the scale is huge and takes in fertile agricultural land which yields a good return of produce, of which this years is typical. In a time when we, as a country, need to move towards food self-sufficiency, this seems counter productive and unnecessary (see v. below). ii. The area will be stripped of its natural beauty and features, such as green spaces, hedgerows and walkways, all of which provide an environment that lends itself to the enhancement of mental and physical health for those who partake of it, especially in a time in our hectic world where depression and anxiety have reached worrying levels. iii. The loss of wild life habitat is extensive. The proposed plan to build hedgerows to offset this and the issue in ii above is nullified by the fact that any planting today takes about 15 years to mature in height and depth before providing the effectiveness needed. iv. The land used will never return to being used as agricultural land because of the polluting effect of the panels and the batteries required as part of the total structural requirements. v. There seems to be a weighted bias against solving the obvious environmental need to produce 'clean' energy in a less harmful way. For example, there is no plan that I am aware of for making it a legal requirement to have ALL new builds to have solar panels installed on the roofs. We go to York weekly and are impressed to see that many new builds do have this requirement - why not here? vi. The batteries needed to carry the solar energy are numerous, ugly and been known to be in risk of being set alight, causing more pollution. vii. The panels themselves I believe are to be imported from China - what about the environmental effects due to carbon footprinf? viii. Finally, the school in Bishopton and some farms, as well as the village itself, will be surrounded, turning this area into an industrial area from a semi rural and beautiful one. This proposal needs not to go ahead for all these reasons and the very need for the protection of the environment thought through in a way that actually solves the problem rather than add to it.