Representation by Thomas Michael MacMahon
- Date submitted
- 6 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Firstly I would like to emphasise that Bishopton is a Conservation Area. Any proposed development is carefully scrutinised prior to acceptance by Darlington Borough Council and strict criteria have to be met to ensure the continuance of many important historical features. This has always been the case until now when suddenly developers can propose to completely ruin the visual amenity of residents and change the surrounding area into an industrial site instead of rural agricultural with lovely views over open countryside. The fields have been used for arable and root crops for many years and all this will be lost from the food chain. The size of this proposal is incredible. To surround small villages completely with fields of industrial units. Every road from Bishopton will be affected and many houses will have direct views of the panels and everything that goes with them. This site is completely unsuitable and more effort must be made to find suitable sites away from beautiful villages and not to use up productive agricultural land. There are NO mitigating proposals that the Developers can come up with that will make this proposal both acceptable and reasonable for the local residents. An example of this is the suggestion that two amenity areas placed on the outside of the village will be a bonus for residents. One is too far out and completely inaccessible for elderly and people with small children etc. never mind dangerous to get too. The other is a nonsense. No-one will use them. Others will talk about the technical downfalls but all I can say is that my village which I have lived in for 56 years will not be the same and I cannot believe that it is not possible to find more suitable sites to place these industrial farms. There are a number of other Solar Farms that have already been approved in this area and the cumulative impact will be horrendous if this even bigger farm is allowed.