Renewable energy shouldn’t cost the rural landscape of Hampshire.
Welcome
Support with your Objections
The meeting on Tuesday 30th January 2024 was very well attended by concerned villagers from Long Sutton, Well, South Warnborough and Odiham. The Action Group shared their updates and gave a clear picture of what we are facing, the ways in which we intend to respond and what residents can do to help.
You can assist in several ways:
Writing your own letters of objection – these should be in your own words and use some of the content from the aide memoire below
Write to our local MP (who was not in attendance) and express your concern about both this scheme and the broader issue of little/no policy on solar plant locations
Rally friends and local family to also do the above
Support our funding efforts (you can do this HERE) – we still need to raise several thousand pounds to cover costs
The results of the four reports commissioned by Save Our Landscape are attached here, together with the Aide Memoire for making objections. As raised at the meeting, it’s important we focus on the main points of objection, keep our responses fact-based and get in as many individual responses as possible.
As it stands the consultation period ends on 8th February 2024 and all views must be submitted by then. Comments can be made on the HDC website using the above link.
We think that it would be safe to finally hold a village hall meeting and we have booked the hall for Tuesday, 30th January at 19.00. Even if the clock starts ticking later this week that will still give you all at least a week after the meeting to submit letters of objection to Hart. The content of such letters can then be informed by the advice we receive at the meeting from our planning consultant, our experts’ draft reports, and the local councillors, District or Parish, who we hope will be able to attend.
We are also planning to produce and distribute a broadsheet in Long Sutton, South Warnborough and Odiham to raise the profile of this application and muster further support. A number of you volunteered to assist with distribution when the time came. Please can you let Ian Howard (ianphoward@hotmail.co.uk) know that you are available and we will try to share the burden.
Having contracted our planning consultants and specialist sub-consultants, we are now eating rapidly into our funds. If you have not yet contributed on our GoFundMe site please consider a contribution: www.gofundme/f/long-sutton-save-our-landscape
That’s about it for now. We look forward to seeing you all on the 30th. Please do discuss with your neighbours and if they are not yet on our distribution list, invite them along
Public Consultation – Post Meeting Update
Following on from the public meeting we can how share more information about the proposed plant, the impact and the changes to the site. Read more found HERE.
Important Update – Public Consultation
The solar company BayWa r.e, who have taken over the planned solar plant, will be holding a drop-in public consultation regarding the solar development in Long Sutton – on the 20th of April between 2-7.30pm, in the Village Hall. It’s vital that we attend this event in force, and share our views on the plans More details on it and our position can be found HERE. Please attend if you can!
Village Walk
To get a better idea of the scope and impact of the development, the action group organised a Village Walk to review the proposed site for the solar farm to get a better idea of the impact of the scheme and how it would affect the village.
A broad cross-section of villagers turned out, and went around the main fields that are currently in scope. It was a chance to discuss the proposal, and for people to learn more about the impacts the plant would have, and the reasons why the Action Group feel the development would have such a negative impact on the villages.
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Three major solar installations are currently being planned within the vicinity of Long Sutton, two of which now have planning approval. A great deal of agricultural land will be lost to these high impact commercial developments. This will radically change the natural environment and significantly impact the rural landscape that is so important to residents across Hampshire.(take a look here to understand the full impact)
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