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19
Sept
Campaigners deliver final letters of objection against major Scotton solar farm
A campaign group has delivered the final batch of objections to a planned solar farm and battery storage system in Scotton.
Boom Power, which is based in West Sussex, has lodged a proposal for the scheme on land at Lawrence House Farm in the village. The 236-acre site is currently in agricultural use.
The scheme would see a solar farm and battery storage system, which the developer said would help to provide” greater renewable energy supply”.
The proposed development would supply enough energy per year to the National Grid to power the annual equivalent of 13,450 average homes.
Meanwhile, at the end of the project's 40-year lifespan, it is intended that the solar panels and other infrastructure would be removed and the site restored to agricultural use.
The site of the planned Scotton solar farm.
However, Richard Tallis, chair of the Stop Scotton Solar Farm residents’ action group, said the move would “irreversibly affect the local landscape and communities”
He said:
Whilst we recognise the need for renewable energy sources, this should never come at the expense of community safety and wellbeing.
Mr Tallis added that the planned farm, which is off Low Moor Lane, would be in close proximity to Scotton & Lingerfield Community Primary School and Kid’s at Heart Nursery.
Campaigners also argue that the construction period would see 16.5-metre articulated lorries making about 1,900 vehicle movements through Knaresborough, Bond End, B6165 Ripley Road, Havikil Lane, Main Street, and Low Moor Lane, using an entrance to the site on a road bend.
This week, Mr Tallis delivered the remaining objections to the council at Harrogate’s Civic Centre. A 600-signature petition against the plan has also been submitted.
Objections to the scheme have gathered support from nearby areas, including Lingerfield, Brearton, Scriven, and Farnham.
In addition, residents are also fighting plans by ABEI Energy to develop a major Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility known as Coney Garth, situated adjacent to Farnham Lake off Farnham Lane.
Mr Tallis said:
These developments are wholly inappropriate for a rural setting such as the villages of Scotton, Lingerfield, and Farnham and the companies involved have severely underestimated the impact that their projects will have on highway safety, environmental, ecological and heritage matters, as well as the wellbeing of residents in the village and surrounding communities.”
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the plan at a later date.
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