Sunday 1 March 2015

Appeal against Partridge Farm/Church Lane Solar Power Station

An appeal has been received by Ashford Borough Council (ABC) in respect of the Church Lane/Partridge Farm Solar Power Station. The original planning application, submitted last year by Eco Energy World  to construct 60 acre power station, was rejected by the Council in July 2014 as an incongruous and insensitive form of development within the open rolling countryside. You can check out the original planning application and the appeal documents at http://planning.ashford.gov.uk using application reference number 14/00398/AS.


We have recently seen planning applications for two solar power stations at Hothfield and Kennardington that had been previously declined by ABC, overturned on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate. Local opinion is important and will be taken into consideration in the appeal decision. In both the Hothfield and Kennardington cases it was felt that local opposition to the plans waned and that this may have contributed to the negative appeal decision. It is therefore essential that we register our objections with the Planning Inspectorate by the 25th March. How you do this?

  • Write to the Planning Inspectorate with your objections/comments in triplicate at Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6PN
  • Quote appeal reference number APP/E2205/W/15/3003125
Even if you objected to the original application it is important that you register your objections again.We will explore some of the reasons why we think that the appeal should be rejected later in this blog and of course there is the fear that other applications for the other two proposed solar power stations at Bank Farm could follow, in the event of a successful appeal.

The Church Lane Solar Power Station will be discussed at the Parish Council Meeting on Monday 9th March at the Aldington Eco Centre in Goldwell Lane (just round the corner from the Village Hall). As a parishoner you are encouraged to attend.

If you were in any doubt about the affects of a solar power station on our rural environment, here are the before and after pictures from Kennardington.



It is claimed by Solar Power Station developers that their sites can also be used for agricultural purposes such as grazing during their operation and can be returned to agricultural use at the end of their 25 year lifespan. In the case of Kennardington, hundereds of tons of aggregate was used to stabalise the ground and it is evident that the future agricultural value of this land will be very limited.

What are the grounds for objection?
  • Loss of productive agricultural land. The Secretary of State for Climate Change, Greg Barker has stated that ”the focus of growth in Solar Energy, to be firmly on domestic and commercial roof space and previously used land”. The proposed site at Partridge Farm/Church Lane is productive agricultural land and is only being considered for a solar development because of the generous subsidies currently available from the Government.

  • Loss of rural environment for current and future generations. The Solar Trade Association of which Eco Energy World Ltd are a member, states in its best practice guidelines that visual impact of any development should be minimized by avoiding extensive views into the site from roads, public rights of way, and hillsides. The proposed development at Partridge Farm/Church Lane is located in a valley and will be visible over a wide area, in particular from the elevated land to the south. The detrimental effect on the rural aspect caused by the proposed solar development would change the rural nature of a significant area of Aldington Parish for present and future generations.
  • Loss of rural amenity. The proposed site is bounded by a number of well used footpaths, including one beside the River Stour. The far reaching views across open countryside enjoyed by residents will be obscured by the proposed Solar Power Station and result in a significant loss of amenity.
  • Traffic chaos and noise pollution along narrow country lanes. The constuction of the solar power station will involve hundreds of HGV movements and in particular it is proposed that 16.5m HGVs will access the site via Church Lane from the south (from Aldington Church).This will have significant detrimental effects on other road users and residents posing a significant risk to walkers, cyclists and riders alike.




Thursday 15 May 2014

Solar Power Stations in Mersham and Aldington

Since we started our campaign against the proposed 93 acre solar power station at Bank Farm in the Parishes of Aldington and Mersham, we have become aware of the proposed 62 acre solar power station at Partridge Farm which borders Church Lane also in the Parish of Aldington. A planning application for the Partridge Farm Solar Power Station has been submitted to Ashford Borough Council (Case No. 14/00398/AS) with comments required by the 23rd May 2014. Further details on the Patridge Farm Solar Power Station will follow on this blog shortly, but you can also review the plans on the Ashford Borough Council website. If you are at all concerned about the industrialisation of our countryside please make your objections to Ashford Borough Council also via their website by the 23rd May.

Both of these proposed developments are of serious concern to villagers as they will have a significant impact on our rural environment with no gain for the local community. The energy generated by these power stations is insignificant in terms of our national energy needs and is only economic with the benefit of significant subsidies paid for by the tax payer and on our energy bills.

Join us in our campaign against these inappropriate developmenst in the heart of the Kent Countryside. Email 2014nospam@gmail.com for more details.

Thursday 27 February 2014

The Issues at Bank Farm




Please visit our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/NOSPAM2014?fref=ts   or email 2014nospam@gmail.com to join the NOSPAM Action Group
 
The proposed Solar Farm Development at Bank Farm constitutes industrialisation of the countryside using the green credentials of solar power as an excuse. If the planning permission for a solar farm is granted the rural nature of the countryside around Aldington and Mersham will be lost forever for future generations.


Solar power can of course, provide an important contribution to the generation of clean energy, but the full environmental implications of locating solar farms in rural areas have to be considered. The Minister of State for Climate Change, Greg Barker has pledged to “crack down on” solar farms sited in inappropriate parts of the countryside, such as Bank Farm. He also wrote “I am keen for the focus of growth to be firmly on domestic and commercial roof space and previously used land”.



The suitability of using the land at Bank Farm for the development of a solar farm should be questioned on a number of grounds



  • Loss of amenity for residents
  • Loss of rural environment for future generations
  • Damage to natural habitats
  • Loss of agricultural land
  • Degradation of historical setting of the area
  • Health issues associated with electromagnetic radiation
  • Traffic chaos and noise pollution along narrow country lanes


The government has published guidelines requiring greater community say on wind turbines so our opinion will count.



  • Loss of amenity for residents
Although not shown on the OS Map provided by environmental consultants URS, the proposed development is cut by a footpath that provides access from Frith Road. This footpath affords fantastic views across the Stour Valley to the North Downs in the distance, all of which will be lost if the solar farm is built, thus depriving our community of a valuable amenity.

OS Map showing the planned solar development the byway and public footpath

Panoramic view from footpath – to be obliterated by solar panels?
The byway that links Frith Road to Bank Road and bisects the proposed solar development is an important recreational resource used by walkers, horse riders and mountain bike riders. It provides fantastic views across open countryside which will be lost if the solar farm development goes ahead, again a very significant loss of rural amenity.


Solar panels to the left , solar panels to the right?

Panoramic view from byway across Romney Marsh in distance to be obliterated by solar panels?

View from byway across the proposed solar farm to be lost for the residents of Aldington & Mersham forever?

  • Loss of rural environment for future generations

The rural environment around Aldington and Mersham is under continual pressure, be it from the new Junction 10 on the M20, the Operation Stack lorry park, housing estates or solar farms and the views of local residents are important in stopping these developments. Although you may not be directly affected by this development, who knows where the next development will be, maybe next to you?



If 93 acres of countryside is covered with solar panels the rural environment of Aldington and Mersham will be altered forever and once the 26 year lease expires who knows what this land will be used for? 

  • Damage to natural habitats
The development of the solar farm will have a significant impact on natural habitats. A full assessment needs to be carried out and we have been in contact with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (www.cpre.org.uk) to advise us on this.

Buzzards are regularly seen flying over the proposed development area
Important woodland habitat within the proposedsolar farm
  •  Health issues associated with electromagnetic radiation
The health issues associated with solar panels are a matter of debate, but there is clearly a body of opinion that believes that there are serious consequences for those living nearby. Solar panels  emit low frequency electromagnetic radiation which for the 3-5% of the population who have electromagnetic sensitivity, can cause a burning sensation, headaches, dizzyness, heart palpitations and sickness. More seriously electromagnetic radiation is also associated with
  • Leukaemia in Children 
  • Brain Tumours

  • Breast cancer in men and women

  • Skin cancer 

  • Lymphoma

    here is a link,do a search on the web and make your own mind up
  •  Loss of agricultural land
The Wanstall Family have been successfully farming the land at Bank Farm for several generations and recent crops have included oil seed rape and wheat. By their own admission the land proposed for the solar development has produced bumper harvests and the land cannot be considered low grade agricultural land suitable for solar farm development as per Government guidelines. Once this land is covered with solar panels its agricultural productivity will be close to zero and the food produced here will have to be sourced elsewhere, further reason for solar farms to be located on brownfield sites as per Government guidelines.
  • Traffic chaos and noise pollution along narrow country lanes
The plans submitted by the developer of the proposed solar farm at Pluckley calculated that 359 HGVs ( 718 comings and goings) would access the site during the 12 weeks of construction. The proposed solar farm in Aldington/Mersham is twice the size of that proposed at Pluckley, so that would be 1436 HGV journeys through Aldington and or Mersham accessing the narrow country lanes of Bank Road and Laws Lane.

This could be your village!
  • Degradation of historical setting of the area


Bank street which bounds the proposed solar farm to the north is a Roman Road and fragments of Roman pottery can be found in the fields of Bank Farm. A number of important finds from the area are to be found in the Beaney Museum in Canterbury.

Stoneless Farm is a grade 2 * listed property and is located adjacent to the proposed solar farm development which will have a significant impact on it's setting.
Stonelees Farm- Grade 2* Listed Building

With reference to the listed Dowle Street buildings which are located 300m from the proposed solar farm  at Pluckley, English Heritage commented that the agricultural land surrounding these properties contributes to their significance by providing the context that explains their historical significance.
Their advice to Ashford Borough Council was “We therefore disagree with the suggestion in the applicant’s archaeological desk-based assessment that this setting does not directly contribute to the listed buildings’ significance. Where the ability to perceive the functional relationship between the listed buildings and their setting is diminished, as to an extent by the current proposal where the character of agricultural land would be so radically changed to an array of solar panels, we think that there would be harm to the significance which they derive from that setting” .



Please visit our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/NOSPAM2014?fref=ts   or email 2014nospam@gmail.com to join the NOSPAM Action Group



Saturday 22 February 2014

The Proposed Development at Bank Farm


NO Solar Panels in Aldington and Mersham


This is the blog for the NOSPAM Action Group who are campaigning against the inappropriate development of a 93 acre solar farm by HIVE Energy, at Bank Farm in the Parishes of Aldington and Mersham.

If you wish to join the NOSPAM Action Group please email 2014nospam@gmail.com and we will add you to the email list. Obviously the more members we have the stronger our voice. In your email it would be helpful if you could indicate whether you are a resident of either Aldington or Mersham Parishes. 

Solar power can, of course, provide an important contribution to the generation of clean energy, but the full environmental implications of locating solar farms in rural areas have to be considered. The Minister of State for Climate Change, Greg Barker has pledged to “crack down on” solar farms sited in inappropriate parts of the countryside, such as Bank Farm. He also wrote “I am keen for the focus of growth to be firmly on domestic and commercial roof space and previously used land”.

The Government currently pays large subsidies for the generation of solar energy, which of course we all pay for through our energy bills. This has distorted the market, such that the development of solar farms has become the domain of speculators, such as HIVE Energy, and farmers keen to cash in on the subsidies and take the easy life.
 
HIVE Energy are proposing to develop a 93 acre solar farm on undulating agricultural land at Bank Farm to the NW of Aldington, straddling the boundaries of Aldington and Mersham Parishes. The scheme is bounded to the north by Bank Road, to the west by Laws Lane and would be a very significant blot on the landscape overlooked by many houses and visible over a large area.

Aerial view from Aldington Village towards the proposed Solar Farm (highlighted in red)

The proposed plan will involve the erection of 2.4m high solar photovoltaic panels (solar panels) over the 93 acre site. It would involve the construction of an inverter and transformer station plus sub stations and high tension cable connections to the grid. The development would be protected by security fencing and CCTV.

There is a solar farm under construction at Old Romney which will give you a sense for the scale of solar panels and overall environmental impact.





Photos from Solar Farm at Old Romney

Planning applications have proliferated throughout the country and in our own area several applications have recently been submitted to Ashford Borough Council

Visit the planning website and search for the applications by number to learn more

http://planning.ashford.gov.uk/Default.aspx 


Pluckley Case No. 00789 
Hothfield Case No. 01022 
Woodchurch Case No. 00020 
Kennardington Case No.01074

Note: select case year as 2013

Due in no small part to the efforts of local residents these applications have been rejected, primarily due to the inappropriate impact they would have on the rural landscape.

Public Exhibitions will be held in Aldington Village Hall on 4th March 12 noon-4pm and 7pm-9pm and it is vital that we all attend to make it clear what we really think about this proposed development.