Residents 'horrified' by huge solar farm proposal

4 hours ago

Amelia RileyEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

David Hume set up the Clean Air Action Group to campaign against the proposal for a solar farm near Beverley

BBC/Amelia Riley A man with grey hair, dressed in a blue zip-up jacket over a white and blue top, stands by a metal farm gate along a dirt track, with fields stretching into the distance and power lines visible under a bright, cloudy sky. — David Hume set up the Clean Air Action Group to campaign against the proposal for a solar farm near Beverley

Residents campaigning against a planned solar farm near Beverley say they are "horrified" by the proposal.

The Clean Air Solar Farm would cover a total of 2,853 acres across two sites near Lockington and Walkington and the developers, PS Renewables and Ørsted Onshore, said it would provide enough electricity to power about 160,000 homes.

Due to the scale of the project, a decision whether to approve the scheme will be made by the government.

David Hume, chairman of the Clean Air Action Group, which is opposing the plan, said it would mean "20 per cent of the land around Beverley was taken over".

Hume voiced his concerns about the "loss of prime agricultural land".

He said: "You'll have solar panels as far as you can see, the noise, the disruption, the big converter stations."

Hume said the two developments would be twice the size of Beverley and seven times the size of the Westwood.

"The residents are horrified and angry," he added.

"They feel that they've not been fully consulted with, particularly in Beverley and Cottingham."

The development would sit across two sites near Lockington and Walkington

Andrew Chandler An aerial view of farmland showing large green fields, hedgerows, trees, and a small cluster of buildings beneath a cloudy sky. — The development would sit across two sites near Lockington and Walkington

The proposal would see a northern section three miles north of Beverley to the east of the A164, and a southern section southwest of the A1079 in close proximity to the grid connection point.

If approved, the project would have an anticipated capacity of 500MW of energy.

It is anticipated that the project would be fully operational from 2033 and operate for up to 60 years.

"The disruption for the next five to six years will mean people around this area, including Beverley and Cottingham, will not be able to go about their normal business," Hume said.

"Once this land is gone, if we can't mount a good enough argument now that this is the wrong proposal in the wrong place at the wrong time, this land is gone forever."

Andrew Chandler is concerned about the industrialisation of the area

BBC/Amelia Riley A man with grey hair, dressed in a black zip-up fleece, stands in a green field with trees and rolling countryside behind under a partly cloudy blue sky. — Andrew Chandler is concerned about the industrialisation of the area

Andrew Chandler, from Walkington, who is part of the action group, said he thought the plans were a good thing when he first received the leaflet.

"Green energy, it's obviously the direction we need to be moving in," he said.

"And then the more I looked into it, the more I realised just what the scale of it was and how it's going to industrialise the landscape."

Chandler said he moved to the area because it was "such a beautiful part of the world", but now he is concerned about the land being given over to the development.

"Instead of fields of gold, there's going to be fields of glass," he said.

"Who's going to want to come to this part of East Yorkshire to enjoy the local area?"

The Clean Air Action Group is holding a drop-in event from 19:00 BST in Walkington to inform people ahead of public information days, which are taking place at Lockington Village Hall on 22 June, Beverley Memorial Hall on 23 June and Walkington Village Hall on 24 June.

A spokesperson for Clean Air Solar Farm said the project would make a "significant contribution towards meeting the country's ambitious plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050".

They said it would encourage the community to attend their consultation events to voice concerns.

"We are aware of other existing and proposed developments in the local area and, where appropriate, we are engaging with other developers and organisations," the spokesperson added.

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