Representation by Emmanuelle Twentyman
- Date submitted
- 15 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to the development of the Byers Gill Solar farm. As a lover of the outdoors, of wildlife and of nature I am intimately familiar with the area and regularly stay with family in Great Stainton. I am acutely aware of the negative impacts the proposed Byers Gill Solar farm threatens to bring to the small local communities. There is absolutely no justifiable reason for the construction of solar farms on prime agricultural land, particularly when considering the critical importance of food security to our nation. The government's purported commitment to protecting prime agricultural land in pursuit of net-zero emissions rings hollow in the face of such blatant disregard for the well-being of communities and the irreversible loss of invaluable agricultural resources. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear in its directive to conserve and enhance the natural environment, yet large-scale solar farms such as Byers Gill are still being proposed on wholly inappropriate sites, desecrating our delicate ecosystems and high-grade farmland. On 7th April 2024 the current Environment Secretary The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP opposed the building of an incinerator in his Cambridgeshire seat as he said it was a “massive blot on the landscape”. Surely 2000 acres of solar panels, with associated infrastructure – 30 x 42meter arrays of batteries, enclosures constituting miles of 2 metre high fencing, CCTV and infra-red lighting on 3 meter poles also constitutes a even more brutal blot on the landscape. As a keen environmentalist I was reassured by formal commitments made by our UK Government to protect and conserve a minimum of 30% of land and sea for biodiversity by 2030. These "30 by 30" pledges seek to safeguard biodiversity, mitigate climate change, and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of ecosystems. The pledges recognise the critical role rural areas play in preserving wildlife habitats, maintaining ecosystems, and fostering resilience against flooding etc. Surely siting solar farms on degraded or brownfield land rather than encroaching on prime agricultural land and ecologically sensitive areas is a further step to meet the net zero targets and 30 by 30 pledges. I believe biodiversity protection, and the preservation of ecologically valuable areas, while promoting renewable energy development is NOT mutually exclusive. To support this case, solar developments which devour vast swathes of farmland need approximately 200 acres to generate electricity equivalent to one North Sea wind turbine. The equivalent power with a fraction of the environmental impact. The government has already indicated its support for North Sea wind power with an £225 incentive to meet zero carbon emissions by 2050. Thinking about future generations and the irreversible impact of the Byers Gill development on my family’s local area I believe it is critical that this ill-conceived proposal be rejected by the National Significant Infrastructure Planning department and the UK Government