Representation by Thomas Brine
- Date submitted
- 28 September 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
There are already 2 solar farms accepted on either side of the village of Camblesforth, the Helios farm alongside these would completely surround the village, taking up land the size of 1200 football pitches for the next 40 years. There are also other aspects such as Drax power station, the carbon capture plant, the energy pipeline from Scotland and the Barlow ash plant all happening within the same area, all adding to the cumulative impact on one small village. Biodiversity. The developers claim improvements to biodiversity by the adding of sheep and meadow flowers to the area. This doesn’t mean improvements for the natural biodiversity which could be greatly impacted upon. There are red list birds, bats, badgers, moles and deer in the area to name but a few of the species that are likely to suffer as a result of this development. Traffic. With all the developments going on in the local area we can expect to see a huge increase in vehicles on our roads, particularly heavy goods vehicles. A lot of the roads around the site in question are small country roads not made to withstand this kind of traffic. Noise disturbance. Although the solar panels themselves make limited noise (there may be some as the panels rotate) the battery storage, inverters and transformers, alongside the cooling fans do produce noise and we are not just talking about the noise associated with one inverter or cooling fan. There is the cumulative effect of having 100 shipping containers of battery storage. This is not a one off sound it is a continuous high pitched buzz for the next 40 years night and day. There has also been a lot of news coverage associated with battery fires. The implications should this happen are huge. The battery storage sits close to residential properties and the prevailing wind seen in the area would take potentially toxic emissions of gases such as hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide and hydrogen straight towards the village of Camblesforth and thereby there is the potential of health and safety risks to thousands of residents. The area in question sits on flood zones 2 and 3a, medium and high risk flood areas. The compaction of the ground during the construction phase alongside the concentrated run off from the panels can add to the risk of flooding. To even think about placing such a large battery storage facility on a flood zone seems ludicrous. The land in question sits on a source protection zone and contains a principal aquifer. The construction activities such as piling over such a large area have the potential to alter the groundwater channels. Should there be any leakage this could result in groundwater contamination as a result. Public amenity: many local residents use the roads and public rights of way as part of their leisure actives, walking, running, cycling, dog walking and horse riding. This area is chosen for this due to the tranquility, which is good for body and mind. How many will want to do the same in what will be an industrial zone. This could add to mental health issues and add to the burden already upon our national health system.