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Councillor Adlington-Stringer (Green Party) says Solar Farms are not the future for Derbyshire...
Councillor Adlington-Stringer on why solar farms are not for Derbyshire
Green Party Councillor, Frank Adlington-Stringer published an article on 25th April 2021 stating why he and the Green Party feel that solar farms should not be the future of Derbyshire's energy. He has given us permission to share his article on our website and it can also be viewed on his website, the link for which is below. It makes for an interesting read folks...
"Solar farms are NOT the future of the Derbyshire's energy sector
Updated: Apr 28
I was recently made aware of planning application AVA/2020/1224 which relates to a potential solar farm at Hall Farm in Alfreton. There are in fact even more of these proposals in the Wingerworth and Shirland division just see this. I want to take the opportunity to explain my thoughts and why I believe that this is not the right way forward for Derbyshire's energy supply.
The site covers 400 acres or about 150 football pitches worth of countryside and farmland. The proposal by German company, Kronos, is to fence off the area, install CCTV and cover the area rows and rows of photovoltaic solar panels.
Now as a Green Party candidate you might expect me to be in favour of such a project, I do believe that renewables are the future and I am keen to support that. However, I have a number of concerns which mean that I cannot support this particular scheme. I detail these concerns below.
The first, and most obvious, concern is the loss of green space. This site would see 150 football pitches worth of green space replaced by a huge solar park.
The fencing erected around the perimeter will prevent wild animals, such as foxes, badgers and hedgehogs, from accessing these areas and will further restrict already limited habitats.
Grass land and fields alone are not great at storing carbon especially when they are being used for agriculture, therefore much of this area is doing very little to limit the climate crisis. If this land was abundant with trees and wildflowers it would be far better at sequestering carbon and would also provide better habitats for nature. It is vital that we protect these green spaces so that we can enhance them and stop them being developed on.
If the main aim is to decarbonise then we should be protecting and enhancing green spaces alongside building small scale, community led renewable energy schemes. By destroying one to get the other we are halving our efforts. We can have both whilst doubling our impact.
Local councils should be encouraging farmers and land owners through grants and bursaries to re-wild their land. Currently many are forced to sell out to large companies as they cannot sustain their way of life due to continued cuts.
Fields and natural environment do not only nurture our wildlife, they also provide a sanctuary for us. During lockdown our mental health has relied on these open spaces, the fresh air and the beautiful views which surround us.
I believe that the climate crisis presents an opportunity. An opportunity to restructure our energy sector and to empower our communities.
We need local jobs more than ever as we face an economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The Kronos solar park would employ just 2 people. This is not the green jobs revolution which this country so desperately needs. The profits would leave this country and go to Germany where the company is based.
Local councils and national government should be subsidising the installation of solar panels on the roofs of our homes. All new build homes should be built for the future and have solar installed. Grants and funding should be made available for small scale, community-led energy sites. The local community should be at the heart of our response to this crisis.
Not only will localising energy production create local jobs, create profits for the community and give us the power to shape our energy needs, if we retrofit homes and improve the energy efficiency, we will be able to further reduce our energy bills.
The Green Party are committed to a 2030 deadline of carbon neutrality, this is 20 years sooner than the Governments 2050 date. The Green Party set a 2030 deadline because this is in line with the latest science (see UNEP Emissions Gap Report p. 12). Any later and the worst effects of climate change will become irreversible. There is a need to act quickly and to make sure we decarbonise rapidly.
It is Green Party policy to avoid reliance on solar farms and instead support small scale, community-led schemes. These small community schemes with allow the local community to prosper. There would also be greater investment in offshore wind power, hydropower, tidal, geothermal and other renewable technologies if the Green Party were in Government. These will provide revenue for the Government and local councils as they would be publicly owned assets. This increases the capabilities to invest further in the sector.
Other parties argue that there is a need for solar farms however, it is completely incompatible with the crisis. How can they justify destroying swathes of green land in order to solve the climate crisis?
There is a nature crisis. We need more trees, flowers, bees, butterflies and wild spaces in our country. If we destroy these to build energy plants then we have just fuelled another crisis. Bees pollinate crops and trees store carbon, without them we are all in deep trouble.
Yes, there must be a focus on decarbonisation and a rapid move to renewables but to do this at the expense of the natural environment is contradictory and wrong. The climate crisis cannot be solved by destroying our environment. We need joined up thinking and a new approach to how we produce energy. We must value nature for what it is and allow it to flourish. We must work around the constraints of the natural world and not fence it out of ours.
We must not push 'green' solutions without consideration for the wider impact. Only Green Party have a holistic, joined up and well thought out plan for the climate crisis. Hurrying through half-hearted and poorly thought out solutions such as this risk making things worse."
Low volume, low frequency constant sound emitted by inverters would cause constant irritation to some pupils and could act as a trigger for potentially dangerous episodes. Currently under construction, the brand new Alfreton Park Special School is situated alongside a boundary of the proposed Alfreton Solar Park, the impact of which could be absolutely detrimental to the special needs pupils who attend the school. Four years since permission was granted for the build, the construction of the school is not yet complete, but the pupils are under threat by the proposed solar park. The school supports pupils aged 2 – 19 with special educational needs and the design for the new school has been centralised around the needs of these pupils. As per the school website: “In 2017 Derbyshire County Council (DCC) committed over £12m to build a brand-new school. The school has been in the unique position of being able to work with DCC to deliver a school which meets the needs of our pupils. After an open tender process, architects Curl la Tourelle Head were chosen to design the school. After many months of discussion and negotiation the final design was submitted to planners and approval was granted in October 2019. Work on the new site began in October 2020 and completion is expected Autumn 2021. During the design process our pupils’ needs have been central. Alongside the classrooms and shared spaces, we have also incorporated a number of specialist therapy rooms including soft play, rebound and sensory. We believe that these rooms, alongside our pool, will play a vital part in our pupil’s journey through school, helping them to be the best they can be.” https://alfretonpark.derbyshire.sch.uk/ Derbyshire County Council included the school in their objection report of the proposed solar park, to Amber Valley Borough Council (AVBC), dated 9th July 2021. Their objection can be viewed on the AVBC website and an extract includes: “[It would] adversely impact on the setting of Alfreton Park Community School and proposed new school, with potential associated negative impacts on the amenity, health and well-being of pupils with special needs who attend the existing school and who will attend the new school.” Drone footage of the school site which is currently under construction can be found here courtesy of Haunted Media : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyf9IuOMLHQ In addition, this CAD image displays the sheer scale of the new school which is set to benefit numerous pupils, especially as their current premises have been deemed no longer fit for purpose. However, if permission is granted for the proposed solar park, it will be build right up to the school boundaries, and have a hugely negative impact on the pupils who attend.
Watch and listen to the video below to hear for yourself how loud just one example of a solar farm is! The noise from the proposed solar park will impact local residents and businesses, as well as children who attend the special school based in Alfreton Park. This solar farm is based in Wincombe in Wiltshire and we are sharing this example video directly from YouTube.
06 hectares/262 acres of solar farms on the beautiful green, rolling countryside between Alfreton park and Shirland. At Save Alfreton Countryside we are trying to stop these plans. We are responsible environmentalists who believe that there is a better way of generating renewable energy than putting solar panels on agricultural land for 40 years or more. For example, using a more modern technology, solar film, on south-facing commercial rooftops would create all the renewable energy the UK needs to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
We've talked previously about alternative renewable energy options and one of the companies we have been in contact with is Power Roll. Based in the UK, the team at Power Roll began with a vision to 'reinvent solar technology'. They have invented a new way to generate and store energy with a technology that is based on a flexible film which could used on the roofs of industrial and commercial buildings to generate and store solar energy. iNews have recently published an article about the Power Roll solar film which includes a section on the proposed solar farm in Alfreton. The following extract is taken from this article and the article can be read in full here. "The plan, by the German company Kronos Solar, would see an area the size of 150 football pitches near the town of Alfreton covered with ground-mounted panels up to 2.8 metres high. Ahead of the planning decision in September, nearby residents are doing everything they can to block it – including coming up with a viable alternative. They heard about Power Roll’s solar film and got in touch. “When we saw what Power Roll were doing, it just seemed like the perfect solution, because it is lightweight, flexible and cost- effective solar,” said John Cleary, chairman of the Alfreton community action group. Power Roll says that it has found plenty of suitable commercial rooftops in the area which have the potential to produce similar amounts of energy to the proposed solar farm." Read the full iNEWS article here Read more about Power Roll here
Amber Valley Council have confirmed (28th May 2021) that they have received revisions to the Kronos application for the HUGE solar farm. If you placed an objection you should have received notification of these amendments either via email or post. The notification stated 21days for further objections. You can raise another objection or raise one for the first time using reference AVA/2020/1224 online https://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/planning or via e mail to development@ambervalley.gov.uk Here are some points which you may like to amend and use within your objection. The points are meant as a steer and please do not copy them word for word, as multiple objections stating exactly the same words weaken our argument, instead please amend these to be your own words: Amended plan from Kronos is still 106 hectares in total so continues to devastate the character of our landscape between Alfreton and Shirland. Heart breaking loss of an amenity enjoyed for generations, with public footpath users having to walk through thousands of 3m high modules 6m away, surrounded by high fencing and security cameras. Massive long-term loss of habitat to established wildlife, with no significant mitigation offered. Inappropriate access points to the proposed site through narrow, sometimes one-way lanes. A new access point off the dual carriageway between Shirland and Alfreton, involving a reduction in the speed limit during construction from 60 to 30mph. Noise generated by the solar farms inverters, indicated to be on the threshold of being intolerable on a sunny day for the closest residents. Direct adverse impact on our heritage assets, including Alfreton park, Alfreton Hall and Wingfield Manor. Consequential adverse effects on local tourism and local businesses which rely on their unspoilt rural location. An unreasonable number of planning conditions requested by Kronos, to prevent them having to supply complete and accurate information up-front. We hope you find the above useful and we urge you to object ASAP within the 21day deadline. Together we can fight the solar farm and say NO to Kronos.
Local Councillors have objected to the huge solar farm and shared their thoughts with us. They have given us permission to publish their comments within the short videos below, that we previously shared on our Facebook page. Check out both videos for comments from Paul Jackson, Nigel Mills, Valerie Thorpe, Barry Lewis, and Marlene Bennett.
Conservative Councillor, Barry Lewis, shared his views on the huge solar farm in the video below. We agree with him when he says: “Yes we all want to be greener…but this is the wrong sort of approach to this I believe.” Check out the video today...
Did you know that it is Green Party policy to avoid solar farms and instead invest in small scale, community-led alternatives. We think Councillor Adlington-Stringer hits the nail on the head when he says "just because something says it is green doesn't mean it actually is." Watch the video below to hear the views of Green Party Councillor Adlington-Stringer:
Local Magazine The Voice, provided some more coverage for our cause specifically focusing on our Action Group and our focus to find an alternative solution to renewable energy that helps to save our countryside. The article can be viewed on page 32 of the following link: https://issuu.com/.../avvm4147__alfreton__apr_21_for_web/32
Local Magazine, The Voice, covered the story at the start of March describing how local residents are uniting to oppose the solar farm. They also shared the details for local residents to have their say and object. The article featured on page 20 https://issuu.com/.../avvm4077__alfreton__mar_21_for_web/20
