1,000 signatures reached
To: Danny Kruger MP
Save One Tree Hill and Potterne Park from solar farm development
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Please help us put a stop to the industrialisation of our historic and valued countryside. Support Potterne Solar Action Group in our campaign to safeguard 266 acres of productive arable land from solar farming and to obtain a Special Landscape Area designation for the valley between Potterne and Lydeway.
Two sites within 1,500m of each other are being targeted by solar farm developers: the iconic landmark of One Tree Hill (Blounts Court solar farm) and the valley of Potterne Park (potternesolar.co.uk). These developments go against NPPF guidelines to protect valued landscapes and sites of biodiversity and to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside. They disregard WCS on the careful stewardship of our environmental assets so that growth does not erode the very qualities that make Wiltshire so attractive in the first place. And they ignore the government’s commitment to food security which relies on strong domestic production, including 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year.
Wiltshire County has already met its 2030 targets for solar renewable energy with 42 operational solar farms in the county, and a further 12 under construction or going through the planning process. We already have six solar farms within a five-mile radius of Potterne.
CPRE Wiltshire, who support our campaign, have highlighted the lack of an overall plan for the spatial distribution of renewable energy capacity in the county and the combined effect arising from the local concentration of several solar farms, many of which include substations, giving them an industrial appearance totally out of keeping with the local countryside.
As our MP, we urge you to ensure that national and council guidelines are respected and to support our efforts to get our valley the Special Landscape Area status it deserves.
Two sites within 1,500m of each other are being targeted by solar farm developers: the iconic landmark of One Tree Hill (Blounts Court solar farm) and the valley of Potterne Park (potternesolar.co.uk). These developments go against NPPF guidelines to protect valued landscapes and sites of biodiversity and to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside. They disregard WCS on the careful stewardship of our environmental assets so that growth does not erode the very qualities that make Wiltshire so attractive in the first place. And they ignore the government’s commitment to food security which relies on strong domestic production, including 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year.
Wiltshire County has already met its 2030 targets for solar renewable energy with 42 operational solar farms in the county, and a further 12 under construction or going through the planning process. We already have six solar farms within a five-mile radius of Potterne.
CPRE Wiltshire, who support our campaign, have highlighted the lack of an overall plan for the spatial distribution of renewable energy capacity in the county and the combined effect arising from the local concentration of several solar farms, many of which include substations, giving them an industrial appearance totally out of keeping with the local countryside.
As our MP, we urge you to ensure that national and council guidelines are respected and to support our efforts to get our valley the Special Landscape Area status it deserves.
Why is this important?
One Tree Hill gets its name from the oak that was planted to commemorate the battle of Waterloo. It was replaced with an elm which succumbed to disease in 1977 - many locals still recall the felling of the tree - and today an oak tree once again marks this iconic spot which can be seen from Etchilhampton Hill AONB. One Tree Hill has been a meeting place for generations and should remain so. The developers propose to erect a 3m-tall fence around the tree, blocking the 360-degree views which we currently enjoy.
Potterne Park solar farm would cover more land than the village of Potterne itself, land that is managed under a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme and is adjacent to Pewsey Vale AONB. There are major implications for the delicate ecosystem in the valley, with several protected species to be found here roosting and breeding in ancient woodlands, including two endangered bat species whose flight paths extend to One Tree Hill. We know this from previous extensive planning investigations. Research papers also show that solar farms are detrimental to bat populations.
Both sites are crisscrossed by open footpaths and bridleways, bringing so many health benefits to daily walkers, cyclists, and horse riders from surrounding villages and Devizes. The required security fencing, CCTV, substations, and additional high voltage transformers will create an alien structure and bring noise to an otherwise tranquil and beautiful piece of countryside, not to mention issues with access along single-lane roads and tracks.
A solar farm can be relocated to a more suitable non-agricultural location whereas productive arable land cannot. Once lost, we will never get it back. Not after 50 years as the developers claim, nor after 99 years which is the typical lease period for electricity substations.
We support renewable energy. These solar farm proposals are in the wrong place!
Signed
Your constituents
cc Wilts Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change
Potterne Park solar farm would cover more land than the village of Potterne itself, land that is managed under a Higher Level Stewardship Scheme and is adjacent to Pewsey Vale AONB. There are major implications for the delicate ecosystem in the valley, with several protected species to be found here roosting and breeding in ancient woodlands, including two endangered bat species whose flight paths extend to One Tree Hill. We know this from previous extensive planning investigations. Research papers also show that solar farms are detrimental to bat populations.
Both sites are crisscrossed by open footpaths and bridleways, bringing so many health benefits to daily walkers, cyclists, and horse riders from surrounding villages and Devizes. The required security fencing, CCTV, substations, and additional high voltage transformers will create an alien structure and bring noise to an otherwise tranquil and beautiful piece of countryside, not to mention issues with access along single-lane roads and tracks.
A solar farm can be relocated to a more suitable non-agricultural location whereas productive arable land cannot. Once lost, we will never get it back. Not after 50 years as the developers claim, nor after 99 years which is the typical lease period for electricity substations.
We support renewable energy. These solar farm proposals are in the wrong place!
Signed
Your constituents
cc Wilts Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change
