Representation by Jane Elizabeth Swainston
- Date submitted
- 16 May 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am wholeheartedly opposed to Byers Gill Solar Power Station; I do not call it a farm because it is not a farm it is a power station. As someone who has always taken a keen interest in the environment and conservation throughout my life, I am totally on board with finding new cleaner, greener and renewable energy for the good of the planet. After months of reading about and looking at the plans for this project and how it will affect the wildlife, flora and fauna, landscape and impact it will have on all the residents in the surrounding area, I don’t feel that this project has been planned with the environment as the first consideration. It will have a major detrimental affect on the local mammal and bird population in the area. There is an abundance of species (some of whom are on the red list for protection) who make the area home. There’re badgers, bats, hares, deer, lapwings, buzzards, kestrels, grey partridge the list is endless. Once this project begins all the species will be displaced and at the mercy of poachers which is already a very severe problem here and does not need exacerbating. The area is also currently used as farmland and has been continually producing crops and grazing for animals for the nine years I have lived in the area. Taking all this land away from agricultural production does not make sense in a time when the government is telling us we need better food security and need to produce more food at home and not be so reliant on imports. Farm land needs to be preserved for the future production of food not given over to vast projects like this. The claim that the land used for solar farms can be multi-functional, for example, grazing sheep on solar farms, to highlight that solar power and farming are not necessarily mutually exclusive is a fabrication. Also, the claim that the land will be able to revert back to agricultural is highly unlikely as it will most probably be classified as contaminated land at the end of the life of the project due to cleaning materials, toxic chemicals from panels and possible leakage of lithium-iron from storage units. I have researched the legacy that, if not us then our children and grandchildren will be left to deal with from these developments when they reach the end of their life. Added to my previous comments on the state of the land after 40 years one stated: “It’s been reported that if recycling processes weren’t implemented, the earth would have 60 million tonnes of photovoltaic panel waste in landfills by the year 2050. So, while coming to market with these renewable energy innovations is important for the world’s resource agenda, it’s equally vital that the wider supply chain innovates at the same pace and that a fit-for-purpose infrastructure is in place to handle the increasing volume of these products. And ultimately, without a recycling strategy in place for such products, these sustainable and forward-thinking technologies ironically become the very thing they’re trying to avoid – a pollutant.” A scary thought! The area surrounding Great Stainton is prone to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall and at times the routes up to the village can become impassable to all but 4 x 4 and farm vehicles. The area proposed for the panels has ancient land drains which I as far as I aware, RWE have not made any preparations to prevent them being broken and damaged when the piling is started for the panel installation. Any damage to these land drains will cause considerably more flooding and could potentially make the roads impassable completely. The road through the village can get extremely busy during the morning and evening rush hours and is also used as a major route for emergency vehicles. Increased HGV traffic along the route through the village will also have a serious negative and potentially hazardous impact on all the village residents. It will also cause severe damage to the road surfaces which will then cause damage to vehicles travelling the route. This is already a problem during the winter months when bad weather can cause the road to fall away in areas and result in accidents and damage to the tyers and wheels of the passing traffic. Increased traffic will only add to this. The efficiency of solar power stations is somewhat in doubt as all the information I have read states that they are only about 11 – 15% efficient. Therefore, the yield of electricity gained from industrializing this vast amount land will be minimal. Visually it will be disastrous our small village will be surrounded on three sides by continuous rows of glass panels completely altering the landscape's character, with boundaries of security fencing and intrusive CCTV. There will be no escape from it on a daily basis for all the residents of the village. I don’t think there is one house who will not look out over part of the project. Which cannot be anything other detrimental to everyone’s mental health and wellbeing. For me personally I work from home and my office window looks out over the view which will be partially taken over by panels. This is an extremely depressing prospect where now I look at beautiful landscapes each day while working, I could be looking at fields of black glass and link fencing. Not to mention the noise I will have to endure during the construction phase. In conclusion I feel that this is a terrible idea however you look at it. RWE have not taken into account the negative impact it will have on the people, wildlife and landscape in general. The impact to Great Stainton in particular in my opinion has not been considered at all by RWE as every aspect of our daily lives will be affected negatively for the foreseeable future with no way of getting away from it. I urge the planning inspectorate to reject the application!