Dear Friends,
Long Sutton Solar Plant – Public Consultation
Last Thursday saw the much-anticipated village hall “drop-in” organized by BayWa – the company behind the forthcoming planning application for a solar plant around Long Sutton. More than 80 people visited to view the information boards and to talk to the four representatives of the project. The majority were from our parish, plus a good representation from South Warnborough and a smattering from Odiham and elsewhere.
Three highlights of the drop in were:
a. That the plans had been amended further, with surface areas in the little prairie significantly reduced.
b. A selection of confusing photographs into the village from various positions on public footpaths around the village – they did not have solar panels superimposed on them, so added nothing to the understanding of the potential impact.
c. Our very loose exit poll suggested that almost everyone opposes the proposal fundamentally, but it is recognized that a small minority are more neutral and one or two possibly in favour. An additional dozen names have been added to our distribution list
Details of the proposed scheme can be found here:
https://www.baywa-re.co.uk/en/solar/fleet-solar-farm#project-information
In the download section on this page, you can find a plan of the scheme and the presentation boards from the consultation. We have also enclosed the plan below (and some of the pictures we took on the day are HERE). On the same page, you can find a feedback form that can be filled out online. We encourage anyone who didn’t fill out the form on the day to do this online. If you decide to utilize it, our suggestion is to make it abundantly clear that you oppose the proposal in its entirety and do not get drawn into answering general questions or indeed suggestions for mitigation or alteration.
There is every possibility that BayWa (or Fleet Solar as their special purpose vehicle is named) will lodge a formal planning application within five or six weeks and so we must ramp up our opposition. The Parish Council is planning a public meeting to discuss next steps, which will take place on 10th May at 19.00 in the village hall and we hope that as many of you as possible will be able to attend.
In the meantime, we are re-engaging planning consultants and would hope that they will be able to attend virtually or in person on the night. It is particularly important that we develop and agree on a plan to fight the application, rather than just rely on ad-hoc resistance that doesn’t include legitimate grounds for objection.
However, consultants cost a lot of money! If you have been holding back from contributing until now, please do go to the GoFundMe site, link below and contribute. No amount is too small.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/long-sutton-save-our-landscape
Thank you again to all those who have already contributed.
Chris Preston is preparing A4-size posters which we will post through local doors. The idea is that you can, if you wish, put them on placards or in a window and exhibit them somewhere prominently on your property. We will also have a limited number of laminated ones to go outside. Please let us know if you would like one.
Thank you
Save Our Landscape
Long Sutton
