Fight against massive solar park near M4 to be joined by Wiltshire Council
5,000 people have contacted the Planning Inspectorate about Lime Down Solar Park - with most objecting to the plans
The resident-led campaign against proposals to build a massive solar park north of the M4 in Wiltshire will be joined by the heft of Wiltshire Council.
The proposed Lime Down Solar Park covers approximately 1,237 hectares of land between Malmesbury and the M4, and includes solar arrays, battery storage facilities, and a 22km cable route corridor through the county to Melksham.
If approved, the scheme would operate for 60 years, – says applicant Lime Down Solar Park Limited – and have an export capacity of up to 500 megawatts, which is enough electricity to power 115,000 homes annually.
As a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, the planning application will not be determined by Wiltshire Council.
Instead, a panel of inspectors from the Planning Inspectorate will listen to the arguments for and against the development before making a recommendation to the secretary of state for energy, Ed Miliband, who will make the final decision.
But this week Wiltshire Council pledged to lend its considerable weight to opposing the plans.
Cllr Adrian Foster, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, said: “While we are not the planning authority for this project, our officers have been working hard to provide evidence for all aspects of the examination, ranging from highways and transport to ecology, economic impact and heritage – to name just a few areas.
“We fully support the transition to renewable energy, but we do not think that Lime Down Solar Park strikes the right balance, and we strongly believe that development consent should not be granted for this scheme by the Secretary of State.
“The scale and location of these proposals will have a disproportionate impact on communities here in Wiltshire, to the local landscape, ecology, heritage, and economy.
“Our officers are committed to engaging throughout the examination process to ensure that the interests of our communities – and the county as a whole – are safeguarded.”
Nearly 5,000 people have written to the Planning Inspectorate about the application, with the majority objecting to it.
Reasons for objection include:
Loss of productive agricultural land and food security
Scale of industrialisation and proximity to Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Damage to grassland, hedgerows, ecology and declining insect populations
Flood risk, groundwater contamination, and watercourse impacts
Industrialisation of a sensitive rural landscape and heritage harm
Construction traffic on unsuitable, narrow rural roads
Loss of public rights of way and the mental health benefits of access to the countryside
Noise, light pollution and long-term community disruption
Property value impacts and harm to local businesses and tourism
The Planning Inspectorate will hold a preliminary meeting at Neeld Community & Arts Centre in Chippenham on Tuesday, April 21 followed by the first open floor hearing, during which interested parties can make oral representations to the inspectors.
The first of a number of issue-specific hearings – this one relating to the scope of the project – will be held at the same venue the following day.
The preliminary meeting is a chance for the planning inspectorate to formally introduce the public to the inspectors who will hear evidence from the applicants, supporters, and objectors.
They will also set out the timetable for the examination process.
The examination team will be led by National Strategic Infrastructure planning inspector Janine Laver with David Love and Ben Northover.
The Planning Inspectorate has given a provisional date of October 21 for the close of the examination stage.