Public urged to have say on plans for Wiltshire solar farm
The Lime Down Solar Park project has been given approval to move to the pre-examination stage
People are being encouraged to register to have their say on a controversial solar project in Wiltshire.
Plans for the Lime Down Solar Park have been given approval by the Planning Inspectorate to progress to the pre-examination phase, allowing people to share their thoughts on the proposal.
People can register to have their say on the plans until 9th January 2026, meaning they can be included in conversations moving forward.
The project proposes the construction of solar panels across a 2,200 acre area in Malmesbury, with routing to the grid substation in Melksham and beyond the M4.
Developers Island Green Power say the project will provide more than 100,000 homes with renewable energy, but protest group Stop Lime Down Solar (SLD) insist the scale of the project is too vast.
Anna-Kate Fuller, from SLD, said it is vital people sign up to have their say on the project.
She said: "This is our opportunity to tell the planning spectrum what it means to us. What is it that's concerning us? What would the harms be to this area? And of course, that's going to be different for everybody."
She added that concerns could range from road safety, with increased presence of HGVs on narrow roads, the human impact of the project, or the recreational harm it may cause and the countryside views that could be altered.
At this stage, registering people do not need to submit major evidence, rather submitting a few bullet points to let the Planning Inspectorate know what concerns them about the plans.
Anna-Kate insists the SLD group is not anti-solar, but feels strongly that solar power should be generated from brownfield sites, or rooftops, rather than agricultural farmland.
The group has been busy putting together a team of experts to support their opposition to the proposal.
She said: "That's going to be absolutely key, so that the examining authority, can, you know, really scrutinise it and put forward to the Secretary of State their recommendation."
To help people understand what the project's plans are, the SLD group is hosting a number of meetings over the next few days to share the information.
"Now we've got the plans, we've got the maps, we've got some of the images, so we can tell people exactly what it is that could happen if we don't use our voice and trying to stop this. So we will explain that very clearly," Anna-Kate said.
The first meeting is tonight (6/11) in Luckington, at the Village Hall, before others in Sherston, Hullavington, Upper Seagry, Malmesbury, Corston and Grittleton.
There will also be an online meeting, which the group will post on its website.