We received a number of comments requesting information about how wildlife would be protected and raising concerns about the potential impacts on habitats and areas of nature on the site.
We are proposing to plant wildflowers across the site and have updated our plans to add an additional 12 hectares of areas for habitat enhancement within the site. We have also completed an Ecological Impact Assessment, and a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, which have indicated that no negative impacts on wildlife are anticipated from the proposals. These assessments have also been submitted alongside our planning application.
Feedback received included both support for the PRoW diversion, and concern regarding the safety of the new PRoW, with requests to add exit points along its length, for it to have a suitable surface, and not feel too enclosed. Concerns were also raised that the diversion would be disruptive to those walking between Hurley and Kingsbury.
We have now further developed our proposals for the PRoW, ensuring it has a 10m width and will be appropriately maintained and signposted. We have proposed a parallel off-road informal cycle track surfaced with an aggregate 3m wide, such as ‘crusher run’. We will also make sure the hedgerow and tree planting is maintained to ensure sight lines along the PRoW, and an exit point from the PRoW will be available at the main site access. The re-routed PRoW will be made available in advance of the existing route being closed to minimise disruption.
The cycle track will only run the length of our site, and at this moment in time will end at the Kingsbury Rifle Range boundary. Proposals to extend the track onwards to Kingsbury will depend upon future funding (such as use of the project’s Community Benefit Fund) and agreements with relevant landowners being made.
Comments were received expressing concern for the scale of the proposed site, alongside suggestions for alternative proposals and sites, which included suggestions that brownfield land should be used and that panels should be placed on rooftops of warehouses instead.
We have carried out a detailed four stage site selection process, and considered the alternative suggestions provided during the consultation, however, our chosen site is the only one in the vicinity to meet the requirements for a solar farm at the scale required to be viable. Regarding fitting panels to nearby buildings and warehouses – this would likely not produce the same amount of electricity as our proposals, due to the inefficiencies and difficulty to link together a network of small generators. Although the site is located on the greenbelt, we believe it is still appropriate for development, as it meets the criteria for the ‘very special circumstances’ that the government has set out for development on the greenbelt, which includes the wider environmental benefits associated with increased production of energy from renewable sources.
We received many helpful suggestions of how we can positively impact and contribute to the local community. We will be setting up a Community Benefit Fund, and these suggestions will be considered further should the scheme receive planning permission.
Following the public consultation and feedback received, we made the following changes to our proposals:
