The Long Sutton Solar Farm Action Group has been formed to develop a robust response to the impending plan to build a 100 hectare solar generation development around our village – which will see Long Sutton bordered on three sides by commercial scale panels and associated security provisions.
The Group (find out more about them HERE) will seek expertise to create a strong response to any application that’s submitted – working with planning experts and other professional bodies to ensure we put forward the most compelling reasons why the Solar plant would seriously impact the local villages.
Alongside this, the Group will also look to harness the support and voice of the community, to ensure that people are aware of the plans, their impact and how they can personally help to prevent the development.
We are aware, and concerned about the creeping solar farm footprint across Hampshire. The current plans are effectively ‘connecting’ villages, despite the need to keep ‘green space’ between them to maintain local character and preserve the individual hamlets and villages.
There is no coherent strategy for solar energy generation in Hampshire – sites are being submitted and considered piecemeal with no overall plan to manage both the impact and the appropriateness for these sites.
Our view on renewable energy
The Group recognises the need for alternate energy sources for the UK, and the importance of a drive to a carbon neutral world. Our view is that this should be achieved in a way that does not impact and destroy the countryside. The ‘gold rush’ to put solar plants in our region is being driven by spare capacity at a nearby substation. This, we believe, is a lazy approach to implementing renewable energy initiatives. There are many sites both in Hampshire and further afield that would be easier, lower impact options for a large commercial solar plant.
We are in full support of small-scale projects that already exist in our area – ones that are sensitive to the rural nature of Long Sutton and the surrounding villages, and do not create major landscape changes.