Representation by Mark A Smith
- Date submitted
- 1 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to formally register my interest in this solar power generation scheme to oppose and object to it on the following grounds. I will expand in detail on these comments during the examination phase. Firstly I am not opposed to renewable energy and fully appreciate that there is a requirement to move away from fossil fuel power generation. However at what cost ? RWE formerly JBM initially started this development by securing stakeholder agreement with landowners back in October 2022. This would have an ideal opportunity to begin discussions with the local community which they did not. The financial incentives on offer to landowners ensured a warm welcome and easy acceptance on that front. The only way the community found out was through the lady who books the village hall posting the booking. The parish council were invited to this meeting and made their thoughts against the development known even at this early stage. From the outset JBM/RWE have repeatedly stated that objection to the development is pointless as if they do not develop the scheme someone else will. This comes across as arrogance and with an assurance that they will receive approval even before the planning inspectorate approval process has started. To further compound this they have been advertising on the RWE website for some time that the site will be in production in 2025 without reference to receiving approval. The Byers Gill development is a vast scheme spread across multiple sites each of which would probably constitute an individual LPA application as a sub 49.9 MW power generation scheme. Combined with another 8 already approved or in construction solar power generation schemes within a 5 km radius this development will fundamentally change the very nature of this area from rural agricultural to industrial power generation and storage facility. RWE fail to cover this in any great detail in their comprehensive documentation. Residents of the various villages will in many cases be forced to live with this fundamental change to the area. The multiple sites will be directly visible from most residential properties all day every day, they will be visible on all journeys into and out of the villages. Whilst accepting that no one is entitled to the view from their homes this is much much more it is not just a view it is a complete environmental change to an area and seems to be based more on the financial gains achieved from solar developments than the benefits solar power generation schemes will bring. Whilst hiding behind the need to achieve Nett Zero. Solar power by design cannot be efficient when compared to other renewable energy power generation alternatives. Many of which are already installed in the area and these will be easy to see when the inspectorate visit the sites. The schemes are forced to rely upon extensive battery storage facilities which have their own inherent safety and environmental concerns and add further industrial scale construction onto rural sites. The areas around all of the sites proposed and in construction are highly susceptible to flooding and it is not unusual for residents to follow multiple routes in order to find a route which is passable when leaving or returning to their homes. This has been the case for many years and there is significant evidence from other large scale solar developments that the likelihood of surface water flooding will be increased if such a development goes ahead. RWE documentation gives little or no detail on this and specific engineering to avoid or prevent flooding has not yet been started by the developer. I have been a resident in the area for more than 30 years and have observed annual harvests from most of the land being used for this development. Predominantly cereal crops are the main produce from this land but historical evidence will show that root vegetables have been grown in this land. To claim it is not productive land is simply not true and is a statement used to justify the development. A frequently used figure is often quoted claiming that just 0.3% of UK agricultural land would be needed to achieve Nett Zero. This may well be the case nationally, however it should be considered that the clustering of these vast solar developments will drastically increase this percentage in localised areas which are being subjected to multiple large scale developments. Other NSIP projects outside the renewable power generation realm consider the impact on property values as a result of these life changing landscape changing schemes many of which have much smaller impact on the landscape. This does not appear to be the case with solar power generation. It appears that residents must just accept that the properties they have worked for throughout their lives will overnight be massively reduced in value and potentially become un sellable leaving significant inheritance shortfalls for many families and potentially enforced negative equity issues for many home owners. This is now proven with factual evidence from a number of attractive properties for sale in the village which have previously sold without issue now proving difficult or impossible to sell even at significantly reduced prices. Who would want to live in an area surrounded by multiple power stations. Would You? This is supported by existing large scale solar developments across the country which have experienced this issue and will be detailed later in the examination phase. So not only must residents put up with a complete, detrimental, inefficient and harmful change to the environment. They must also endure significant financial hardship in terms of residential asset depreciation. This is often countered with various arguments to say it is not the case but I can quite conclusively prove that it is the case. The developers hide behind the “it's good for the environment” curtain and refuse to acknowledge or consider compensation for the harmful impact caused by the power station development. There are many other aspects which I will provide evidence for in more detail later in the examination phase. I would request that the planning inspectorate carefully considers all aspects of this development and the significant life changing impact it will have on multiple communities across this area. This power generation development will have far reaching impact not only to the environment but also to the mental health and wellbeing of many residents already worried about the impact it will cause.