MORE than 1,000 people have signed a petition opposing plans to build a solar farm on fields south of Yate and Chipping Sodbury.
A planning application by renewable energy firm RWE for its Mousewell Solar Farm project had received 276 written objections by February 10 on South Gloucestershire Council’s planning website, with 78 people writing in support.
The twin-site development is split between Mousewell Farm, off Sodbury Lane (in red to the right of the image, above), and fields between Westerleigh and Wapley Bushes, by Besom Lane and the railway (in red at the left). The two sites would be connected by an underground cable and include battery storage.
RWE says the solar panels would have the capacity to produce around 22 megawatts of energy, enough to supply 10,000 homes, and wants it to be operational by next year, with an operational lifespan of 40 years.
It says: “”It is hoped that the Mousewell Solar Farm will play a significant role in contributing towards South Gloucestershire Council’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2030.”
The petition on the change.org website has been posted under the name Concerned Residents, and says the plans will “change the landscape for current and future generations”.
The petition says: “Residents will not benefit and neither will nature.
“When you cover fields with glass it’s impossible not to negatively affect nature! Our rural landscape and the diverse wildlife and ecology that exists within it will suffer.”
The authors of the petition say the development will also cause a year of disruption from construction, and say fitting solar panels on roofs of existing buildings should be prioritised.
‘Blot on the landscape’
Opponents writing on the council website say it will also affect the owners of around 50 horses currently kept in stables at the site, with one describing it as “a massive blot on the landscape”.
Among those writing in opposition is Paul Hulbert, a Dodington parish councillor and member of the Wapley Bushes Conservation Group, who raised a number of concerns about the effect on wildlife, including four protected species of bat, deer, damselflies, dragonflies and songbirds.
Objections on behalf of Westerleigh & Coalpit Heath Parish Council and Sodbury Town Council have also been published on the planning website, citing the “negative impact” on the Green Belt, appearance of the area, loss of agricultural land and increased traffic during the development.
Farm land ‘not best and most versatile’
RWE, which has set up a website dedicated to the project, says the solar farm would be built on agricultural land that is not classified as “best and most versatile”.
It will include acoustic fencing to muffle noise from electrical equipment, along with “1,200m of new hedgerow with trees and almost 2,600m of species rich hedgerow”.
RWE says that, in response to an initial consultation last year it has added a designated ‘no development area’ and a biodiverse community area near Wapley Bushes Nature Reserve to the plans.
RWE development manager Ben Kwok said: “We’re continuing to have conversations with the local community to best understand their aspirations for the area and answer any questions.”
The plans can be viewed by searching for application P24/03001/F on the council’s planning website.