Representation by Cheryl O'Bryan
- Date submitted
- 28 September 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Using Best and Most versatile land, when there is so much going on around the world, makes no sense at all. Quality agricultural land should be kept for our own food security. There are many other sites where a solar farm of this scale should be situated e.g. waste brownfield sites, car parks, motorways, industrial rooftops etc. The small village of camblesforth will effectively be surrounded and will become an island in a sea of solar farms and Drax power station. There are already 2 solar farms in development. The cumulative impact on the village cannot be underestimated. The health and well being of residents will be affected. Most villagers live here because they want to live rurally and love the countryside. Residents, including myself, enjoy tranquil family walks, dog walking, birdwatching, nature, horse riding, running etc. Walking through enormous fenced solar farms is nothing like being in the countryside and surrounded by farmland. It will have a negative effect on mental health and will certainly impact on me daily. Living alongside a solar farm of this size and scale is bound to have a significant effect on property values. People have chosen to live here to enjoy open farmland and countryside. Loss of property value will contribute to negative effects on mental health. The sheer scale of the solar farm and size of panels etc, will change and dominate the whole character and nature of the area. A once rural area will become industrialised. Many residents will see these enormous panels from their houses. I'm concerned about the impact on the natural biodiversity too. We can not just destroy 100's of years of nature and instantly replace it. Grazing some sheep under the panels and adding some meadow flowers doesn't mean improvements for the natural biodiversity. I often see deer, buzzards, badgers, various species of birds including red list species. I've seen bats, foxes, mice, weasels, stoats and hedgehogs and also butterflies and moths and other insects on the public footpaths where the solar farm is proposed. There are signs of moles in the area too. I worry about creatures suffering and becoming trapped in fenced areas. I have already seen deer trapped in a solar development in camblesforth. The development itself will cause a lot of disturbance for residents during construction over the next few years and this includes noise, dust and traffic. Many roads in this area are not made to withstand heavy goods vehicles. The battery storage associated with this solar farm is very close to dwellings and the implications of a fire are huge. The prevailing winds blow straight towards camblesforth. There is potentially an enormous risk to the health and safety of 1000's residents if there was a fire. The battery storage area in question sits on medium and high risk flood areas too. This makes no sense whatsoever. I'm very concerned about the carbon footprint of this solar farm. I'm concerned about how and where the raw materials are sourced, if the panels will be made in fossil fuel burning countries and shipped many 1000's of miles and what will happen to the batteries and panels at the end of their useful life. I am interested to know how long this site will have to run before it makes up the carbon it has produced.