There are just a few days days remaining until the end of the statutory consultation into the proposed East Park Energy solar development. The deadline for providing responses is 11:59pm on Tuesday 29th October 2024.
Richard Fuller MP said:
I am a strong supporter of solar and renewable energy in general, however I strongly oppose this scheme for three key reasons:
- It is simply too big at 1,900 acres (that's roughly 1,000 football pitches!) and will severely blight the environment for the residents in and around the villages of Little Staughton, Pertenhall, Keysoe, Swineshead and Great Staughton.
- The proposed land for the solar farm has been designated as 74% BMV (best and most versatile) land, i.e. good agricultural land that is key to our food security and should not be exploited for solar energy. By comparison, the 4 solar farms recently approved by the government are:
- Mallard Pass - 25% BMV
- Gate Burton - 9%
- Sunnica - 4%
- Cottam - 4%
- We should be adopting a 'Roofs First' strategy as is the case with our key European neighbours. We've barely scratched the surface of citing solar panels on supermarkets, warehouses, carparks etc and should be prioritising these sites and developing increased connectivity to the grid.
If you live in one of the affected areas you may have attended one of the consultation meetings and stated your objection. That is not enough because as far as we know, no-one is logging these discussions so I would urge you to use the feedback form attached to ensure that your comments are documented. We witnessed the failings of the terribly flawed East West Rail consultation and don't want to see local voices ignored again.
If you live further afield but care about our countryside, agree with a 'Roofs First' strategy and place a premium on maintaining good agricultural land for our food security goals, then please consider supporting those affected villagers and state your own objection to this development on the feedback form.
To have you say before the deadline of 11:59pm on Tuesday 29th October 2024, please go to https://eastparkenergy.co.uk/feedback/
You can find out more information and also sign up to show your support at the Stop East Park Energy campaign website at https://stopeastparkenergy.com/
You can read more about Richard's views on solar energy at https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/campaigns/solar-farms
