A proposal to create a solar farm beside an ancient woodland which could provide the energy needs of 15,000 homes has been met with a wave of objections over its potential environmental and ecological impact.
Pilmoor Solar Ltd’s proposal to site ground-mounted photo-voltaic panels with a generating capacity of 49.99MW at Braffteron Spring Wood, near Helperby, across a land the equivalent area of 133 football ptches, follows schemes in the area meeting with contrasting reactions due to the sites.
Planning documents lodged with North Yorkshire Council state as the UK’s coal-fired power stations are to be decommissioned by next year, there is a necessity for urgent replacement power generation schemes.
The application states with electricity consumption set to double by 2050 solar farms offer “a safe, locally produced, and cost-effective solution, addressing growing demand, climate change, and delivering secure, home-grown energy”.
The papers underline the Pilmoor proposal would offset around 21,500
tonnes of CO2, while the economic benefits of the scheme would include economic output of £1.7m over 14 months, £160,000 of business rates a year to the council, and “significant spin off benefits for the supply chain”.
The application states: “The proposed scheme would provide a significant amount of decentralised electricity to the area and support the transition to electric vehicles and heating. It would also help to reduce the UK’s reliance on
imported fossil fuels and help the UK gain more control over its energy provision and energy security.”
The scheme has drawn support from some residents who believe the installation “will bring about a number of environmental positives to the area”.
One resident has stated: “Not only are the solar panels environmentally-friendly that will provide a much needed clean alternative to energy provision but the fields where they are to be placed will also benefit from a thriving, diverse flora that will provide a richer habitat for various insects, birds, and small mammals, fostering a thriving, biodiverse ecosystem that benefits both the environment and local wildlife.”
However, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said it “must object”, based on the lack of ecological information provided by the applicant, despite having claimed that the application being supported by an ecological assessment.
Objectors have highlighted how woodlands beside the proposed solar farm are listed on the Department of Food and Rural Affairs ‘Magic Map’ and also form a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
Some of the dozens of objectors say the proposed site features good quality arable land currently used for winter wheat and silver grass, so the scheme “represents a wholly inappropriate change of use of a substantial land area, at time when food security and the farming sector are under massive stress”.
One objector stated: “Surveys for protected species such as bat, great crested newts and otter are apparently not being carried out and we know they either are present, or are likely to be present within the site.”
Another resident battling against the development wrote: “The scale of the infrastructure is likely to be highly intrusive in this otherwise wooded and
agricultural landscape and I am concerned that this may not have been accurately represented in consultations.
“The scale of the development is likely to diminish the enjoyment of the surroundings for residents, and regular visitors and to be inconsistently jarring for those encountering the solar farm for the first time.”
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