The Coventry Council’s proposal to build a sizable solar farm on grounds close to residential areas has sparked grave concerns. Building on green belt land has angered groups established to safeguard the countryside, and a farmer claims he will lose his company if it goes ahead.
Locals were outraged by the proposals submitted last year and have expressed concerns about the panels’ potential detrimental effects on them. A petition with nearly 250 signatures and dozens of objections have been filed against the plan, which council members will vote on next week (February 29).
The municipality, which is the landowner off Lentons Lane, intends to install cabling, 13 inverters, and 65,000 solar panels on the fields. According to plans, if permitted, the solar farm would be operational for 40 years and provide 30 MW of electricity on summer days.
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However, the Coventry and Rugby planning officers have suggested that the farm be approved. A report for a meeting in Coventry next week acknowledged that the farm will negatively impact the landscape and the greenbelt in the vicinity, but it also claimed that the advantages of the renewable energy would exceed this.
A farmer may “overnight” lose their business.
Since 1967, Edward Dewes has occupied Lentons Lane Farm as a tenant. He informed the council that the plans would eliminate the viability of his 56-year-old company because he would lose 105 acres of property and his house would be encircled by solar panels.
He objected in writing, saying, “My business will be extinguished overnight if planning is approved as the development requires virtually the whole farm.” after addition, he criticized assertions that the plan would not interfere with farming and that land might be put back to use for this purpose after forty years, pointing out that thirty-two percent of the area falls under the category of “best and most versatile” land.
Mr. Dewes stated that the creation of grass will be “negligible” due to a lack of sunshine, labeling the notion that sheep can graze beneath the panels as a “fiction”. He informed the council that the development will also harm the soil structure because of the lack of sunlight and waterlogging from rains falling off the panels.
Opponents of the plans are shown outside a field that will be used for the solar farm on Lentons Lane.
He cited the planned two-meter-high fencing as evidence that the plan will upset the species that lives on the fields, including badgers and great crested newts. He added, “The site will become something resembling a collection of prison compounds, rather than enhancing habitat for wildlife.”
During a planning meeting in Rugby earlier this month, Mr. Dewes also brought up the fact that the closest panel would be only 30 meters away from 60 of the homes on the lane. “Nowhere in the UK has planning permission been granted for a solar scheme this close to so many houses,” he said.
Concerns about construction on the Green Belt and its effects on locals
Organizations created to safeguard rural areas have also criticized the proposals. They noted that no “special circumstances” had been demonstrated that would permit construction on the property.
Lentons Lane Farm is well-established and close to regions that are well-known for their biodiversity, according to a letter sent to the council by the Local Access Forum in the area. They said that because the proposal would significantly lessen the area’s open space and agricultural usage, it “fundamentally conflicts” with the rationale of including property in the Green Belt.
They said that additional traffic, CCTV, security fencing, and pollution from light and noise will worsen the plan’s effects on the community. They expressed concern that accepting it would “open the floodgates” for other green belt communities to implement similar plans.
The demand for renewable energy sources and the threat posed by climate change are points of agreement, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Warwickshire. “However, approving the siting of (industrial) solar farms on land that is currently being used to protect the nation’s food security, rather than on underutilized or brownfield land, is not the right way to go about it,” they continued.
Locals have petitioned that strolling on the land improves people’s physical and mental wellbeing since it “means a lot” to the community. Because of their proximity to the development and the number of people who use the nearby canal walk, the plans also state that the scheme will have “major effects” on the opinions of residents in Lentons Lane.
After 15 years, the impact on these groups will still be “moderate,” according to mitigation planting. It stated that “residents at Lenton’s Lane Farm, who will be enclosed by the proposed development, will experience major effects during construction and at years 1 and 15.”
According to the council report, there have been over 60 formal objections to the plans from locals, and 112 people have signed a petition that councillor Linda Bigham started.
Benefits “outweighed” harm – council
However, the wider advantages of the panels, according to Coventry council planners, surpass the effects on the scenery and green belt. Officers stated that just a small portion of the land would be disturbed and that it may be put back to its original usage after 40 years in a report on the agenda for next week’s meeting.
They noted that Natural England had not objected to the plans. Additionally, the study stated that the farm would help the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy and fight climate change by producing up to 30 MW of electricity and saving over 7,000 tonnes of carbon annually.
Regarding the rationale behind the site selection, it stated: “In order for solar farms to be considered acceptable for development, they must meet particular site selection and location standards. Because of its close proximity to a grid connection location with adequate capacity, the application site was selected.”
The research further said that the solar farm would help the community through educational visits, enhanced pathways and wildlife habitat, and a “net gain” in biodiversity. It further stated that there have been no complaints from the legally required parties to be consulted.
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