Representation by Megan Tilly Humble
- Date submitted
- 7 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
In February 2021, National England issued the GUIDE to assessing development proposals on agricultural land. This included LPAs using the NPPF to make decisions about the natural and local environment in order to: • protect and enhance landscapes, biodiversity, geology and soils • recognise soils as a natural capital asset that provide important ecosystem services • consider the economic and other benefits of Best and Most Versatile (BMV) agricultural land, and try to use areas of poorer quality land instead of higher quality land • prevent soil, air, water, or noise pollution, or land instability from new and existing development. Furthermore, the government, including the current Prime Minister, has quoted on numerous occasions that quality agricultural land should not be used in the quest to achieve Net Zero. To confirm, not only is Bishopton village within a conservation area but the areas proposed for Byers Gill fall within the top ratings. The inefficiencies of solar farms are well publicised; electricity generation is not only impacted by clouds or overcast skies but only work during the day. During the winter months, when electricity is most needed, hardly any is generated and storage solutions are expensive, have very limited storage duration and pose a significant risk of fire and explosion from thermal runaway from the Lithium-ion batteries. Given the storage for the Byers Gill sites combined will be one of the largest in the country, the risk itself should be sufficient to stop the development, not to mention accessibility for emergency service vehicles should the worst happen and a fire ensues. Whilst this is a renewable form of energy it is far from being carbon neutral. The embedded carbon footprint (ECF) of a solar panel is nearly seven times greater than that of a wind turbine. Other factors to consider include the volume of traffic, from both workers and construction traffic, and size of the vehicles (e.g. HGVs) on minor roads which are already in desperate need of repair; the close proximity of the proposed development to the local primary school in Bishopton which will not only be impacted by the noise, but the risk of road accidents will increase significantly.