Save the Sitlington Countryside
The negative impacts of solar farm developments.
Loss of greenbelt agricultural land
The New Hall and Low Farm developments are entirely within the local green belt. The solar plant will cause a significant loss of high grade agricultural land.
The Government’s Planning Policy Guidance and National Planning Policy Framework are clear - the benefits of renewable energy do not outweigh the normal planning process. Removing greenbelt agricultural land for solar farms goes against this requirement. The planning system should protect good environmental, nature and food security principles from the urgency to develop renewable energy options. The UK Warehousing Association and Council for the Protection of Rural England’s recent policy on Rooftop Renewables both state that almost all of the government’s ambition for solar could be achieved with rooftop capacity. The NPPF says that local authorities should provide a “..strategy for energy…while ensuring that adverse impacts are addressed…including cumulative landscape and visual impacts.” Guidance also states very clearly that solar farms should be focused on “..previously developed and non agricultural land…that is not of high environmental value”.
Damage to UK's food security
The loss of agricultural land to the hundreds of proposed solar farms in the UK will damage our food security.
Risk to conservation sites
The development is next to ancient woodlands, designated SSSI (site of special scientific interest)and adjacent to the SAC (special area of conservation) protected area of Denby Grange Colliery Ponds. The site has historic value with listed buildings and Scheduled Monuments. The developer’s strategy to ‘protect’ these by covering them in concrete. The National Planning Policy Framework also requires authorities to consider the implications of cumulative change on heritage assets. Just because one solar development in this area has been approved does not mean a free rein to develop. Indeed, the policy suggests that the area should demand higher levels of protection from cumulative development.
Massive loss of habitat
The loss of habitat will have a a huge impact on local wildlife. Wildlife corridors across Sitlington countryside will be severed. Fenced footpaths will not provide sufficient safety for wildlife – in fact they can reduce safety by forcing wildlife to use the narrow fenced areas, increasing their risk to predation. Link your text to anything, or set your text box to expand on click. Write your text here...
Loss of essential outdoor space
Devastating loss of green space that is enjoyed by the Wakefield community. It is likely to have significant impact on the health and wellbeing of local community
Footpaths turned into corridors, with high fencing on each side. Unfit for use by horse riders, walkers and people that formerly enjoyed this countryside,
Increased flood risk to areas like Horbury Bridge
The loss of crops on New Hall and Low Farms to absorb rainfall, the compaction of the land for site development, potential damage to land drains due to piling for solar panel posts and infrastructure, can increase flooding across local areas. The additional water run-off from these industrialised fields will increase the risk of flooding to already at-risk local areas, such as Horbury Bridge. It will also increase risk of flooding to the wildlife habitats, ancient woodlands and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) adjacent to the proposed solar farm site. The area for the proposed development is located within the vicinity of the National Coal Mining Museum, an area with a rich mining history. The potential for disturbance of uncharted areas of mining works would be a significant risk, potentially having an adverse impact on the stability and safety of the land.
Solar plant fire risk
Solar farms are significant industrial developments, including transformers, inverters and battery storage. Grid-scale battery storage systems can store huge amounts of energy and therefore if they catch fire, cause significant risk to the local population and our health.
After solar - brownfield development?
After their 40 year lifespan, redundant solar farms create a gateway to land being identified as brownfield, opening up the chance for factories, industry and housing being built there – and not, as the promise of solar developers, being returned to agricultural land.