Please use the following text as a basis for your own objection email. Make it clear how strong your feelings are that this massive farm will ruin our local area, and that you are part of a large campaign to prevent it going ahead. Send it to Castle Way Energy via info@castlewayenergy.co.uk and our local MP john.whitby.mp@parliament.uk
Email info@castlewayenergy.co.uk; john.whitby.mp@parliament.uk
Dear Mr Andrews,
Further to your recent Castle Way Energy letter to some of our local residents around Church Broughton and Barton Blount on your pre-consultation with regard to a solar farm to the North of Church Broughton. I’d like to strongly object to your consideration of this area.
It’s unsuitable on a large number of grounds. The heritage, archaeology and setting of Barton Blount Hall is important at a national level and should not be encumbered by solar panels. 4 widely used footpaths and a bridleway will be adversely affected by this industrial development, security fences and CCTV and a large number of inputs have already been collected from over 150 walkers and riders who want to retain these rights of ways through fields that remain fully rural in nature. More broadly than footpaths and bridleways, our wider landscape and views are important to me and the quality of life in my area. I believe that the ecology and habitat of a number of species of local flora and fauna will be adversely affected and I want to protect these from the large-scale disruption that your development would create. This also applies to our narrow, twisting, local roads which are unsuitable for the high number of HGV traffic movements that would be required. Construction related disruption will be significant over a number of years. The proposed area in question is primarily good quality, grade 3 agricultural land that has been in use for centuries and a number of areas that are high sensitivity. I am concerned about flood risk, as in recent years the Church Broughton school has needed to close on a number of occasions due to ground water run-off onto the local, lower lying roads that provide vehicle access to transfer children to and from their classes. Similarly, our residents are increasingly concerned about access of emergency services. I also believe our area is too far removed from the Willington sub-station to be a rationale choice and that better sites exist closer to it. I urge you to consider brown field land, in particular.
Our community is already fully mobilised to vigorously oppose your proposal. We have a number of highly qualified professionals with relevant specialist knowledge in renewable energy, construction and high voltage electrical supply who have committed time to supporting our campaign. Our opposition and legal arguments are well co-ordinated and very well financed and we have a broad action plan in place with local leadership and project management experience. We are drawing in national bodies and associations to complement and support these action plans. On Thursday 14th May the Church Broughton Parish Council resolved to oppose this scheme which provides further cohesion to our efforts.
This is an early notification of my position and is not a substitute for a section 42 response that I will make if your proposal reaches a formal consultation. We intend to make this the most difficult of any area that you are considering trying to develop.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]