I have many concerns over the proposed Green Hill Solar Farm - it is too large, is situated on good quality agricultural land and has insufficient guarantees over the future decommissioning of the site.
Throughout my election campaign and subsequently, I have been liaising with “Stop Green Hill Solar Farm” on this.
Given my concerns, I have written to the Planning Inspectorate requesting to be made a statutory consultee on this application.
If you want to keep up-to-date with what I am doing across the constituency and in Westminster, you can sign up to my monthly newsletter at sarabool.uk/newslettersubscribe.
You can find the full text of my letter below:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to express, on behalf of my constituents in South Northamptonshire, my opposition to the Green Hill Solar Farm development, currently in pre-application stage.
My opposition rests on the following points:
- Use of Land – The Green Hill site sits on mainly high-grade agricultural land, with 66.6% of it being BMV Grades 1, 2 and 3a, which contradicts government guidelines. I believe that we should be prioritising brownfield sites for renewable energy projects that seem not to have been considered here, like the many warehouse rooftops on the nearly M1.
- Scale and Visual Impact – Over 700 acres of land around the villages of Easton Maudit and Grendon in my constituency will be taken up by solar panels under this proposal. The former will be surrounded on three sides by panels, ruining the rural way of life for this historic village that was home to a former Speaker of the House of Commons. The visual impact of such a scheme will be immense and one cannot underestimate the change this will make to the landscape, in addition to issues of glint and glare.
- Decommissioning – The developer can give no guarantees over what will happen to the site when it is decommissioned. It will be in use – as a minimum - for 60 years, yet there are no guarantees that the land will revert to its original agricultural use, with potential for it to become an industrial site. If the company was to go into administration or be wound up, there is no contingency plan for the site particularly around how the panels may be removed or recycled
- HGV Traffic – The increase HGV traffic on the narrow village roads will cause significant disruption to residents and be very dangerous too, particularly as some areas will be impacted for more than 24 months.
- Battery Storage – The BESS proposals are extensive and local residents have significant concerns over major disasters particularly around fires, extinguishing of which are extremely difficult. There is also concern around flooding especially given Northamptonshire is seeing more flooding (and there was a major issue in Autumn 2024 around Grendon)
- Lack of commitment to provide for community benefit – There is no solid commitment from the developer to provide a benefit to the local community in the form of cheaper electricity for the impact of having to live next to a large solar site.
- Local Jobs – There is minimal evidence that the site will provide for new local jobs, either during construction or after, with jobs potentially lost as a result of the land no longer being used for agricultural purposes.
- Impact on cyclists, walkers and horse-riders – This area is frequently used by locals and others for leisure pursuits, all of which will be curtailed by the construction of a solar farm.
- Lack of Public Consultation – The public consultation process was poorly advertised and had limited reach, with only four in-person events. There has also been little engagement on social media.
I understand that you have granted my constituency neighbour, the Rt Hon. Stuart Andrew MP, statutory consultee status. I would be very grateful if you might consider granting me said status as well, such that I might represent my views to the Inspectorate throughout the NSIP process.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Sarah
