Morton Solar Farm Survey – Results and Resident Comments

The results of my recent survey; 

Results from Morton Solar Farm Survey

Total Responses: 103

Had you heard about the proposals for a new solar farm near Morton before taking part in this survey?

• No: 34% (35)
• Yes: 66% (68)

Have you received any information about the Morton solar farm proposals?

• No: 50% (52)
• Yes: 50% (51)

Do you support the increased use of solar power to generate electricity in the UK?

• Yes: 57% (58)
• No: 25% (26)
• Don’t Know: 18% (18)

From what you have heard so far, on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being strongly opposed and 10 being strongly in favour, how much do you support the proposals?

• Strongly Support (10 - 9) = 11% (11)
• Support (7 - 8) = 10% (10)
• Neither Support nor Oppose (4 - 6) = 17 = 17% (17)
• Oppose (3 - 2) = = 12% (12)
• Strongly Oppose (1 - 0) = 51% (52)

What are your TWO biggest concerns for the development?

• Overdevelopment i.e., the size/scale of the proposals = 57% (59)
• Loss of green space = 50% (52)
• Environmental issues like wildlife protection = 42% (43)
• Visual impact and destruction of countryside views = 37% (38)
• I do not have any concerns = 15% (15)
• Disruption during the build phase = 10% (10)

I have written to the Planning Manager at North East Derbyshire District Council. You can view my letter here.

This is a selection of comments made by residents in in response to my survey about the proposal to build a large Solar Farm in Morton.

‘’Beautiful walk Evershill Lane to Railway lost. Panels put in would be a quagmire. Bridleway is raised and no mention on proposals. encroaches onto the village. Still suffering from mud and vehicles from Padley Wood View development (due to be renamed solar panel view) wildlife, buzzards hunt here.’’

‘’Better than building houses on the said land’’

‘’Covering the country’s green space in intermittent renewable generation is not the answer, we need low carbon baseload generation, e.g. new nuclear or gas with carbon capture.’’

‘’Decimates valuable agricultural land and will put the farmer and related businesses out of work taking away livelihoods . Totally ruins the rural and agricultural heritage of the village. Takes up nearly a quarter of the land of the actual village. Ruins a valuable community asset of the footpath/bridle path by industrialising a countryside walk. This is not an environmental project that will benefit the local community or National infrastructure it is a private profit project at the expense of the local community who live here and use and enjoy the countryside.’’

‘’We live on the new estate in Morton (Padley Wood View) and only found out about it two days before we exchanged contracts.  I am generally in favour of it, but not happy about how close it is to our estate and think the solar farm will be far too big. I would prefer it if the field just north of Padley Wood View would remain as a field.  It says that in the bottom right-hand corner of this field there will be information boards but I still feel it’s too close to the estate. Also I think the lorries will close past Morton Grange Nursing Home and to the top of my estate.  So feel there will be a lot of noise and disruption.  The current footpaths and new ones that will be created would be directly through solar panel fields and will affect my enjoyment of the countryside, the views and my hobbies of photography and bird watching.’’

‘’ I believe there other areas these panels can be fitted, not disturbing our wildlife and landscapes, the village of Morton is quickly growing with new builds and before long will not be the small quiet village we had, I believe Sandringham Palace has plenty of ground to put these in!’’

‘’ I don't think the location is very appropriate and understand there will be some very big machinery going down very narrow lanes and through the village which is already swamped with parked cars and through traffic.’’

‘’ I find it amazing that land which has been described as unproductive has been planted up fertilizer spread. This land is good arable land which cannot be used for food production when covered in solar panels.’’

‘’ I just cannot understand why they have put all the solar panels in one area. Plus I cannot understand why they've built 100 houses there and not one of the houses have got solar panels or renewable energy.’’

‘’I live in Morton close to the proposed site. There is already a smaller solar farm at the site, and extending to a much larger solar farm should be supported. For those who disagree, would they prefer a coal fired power station in Morton or a nuclear power plant, or an abattoir?’’

‘’I strongly oppose the Eden Meadows Solar Farm proposals for the following reasons: the very large size of the development which is totally inappropriate for a site so close to residential properties in a rural village; a negative visual impact of such a huge solar farm would fundamentally change the tranquil countryside character of the area and there would be a loss of local wildlife habitats for birds, bats and insects.

I object to the plans for the Eden Meadows Solar Farm installation in its entirety. Such developments should be on rooftops, adjacent to motorways or on already industrialised land and not in an area which will cause a significant negative visual impact to residents/visitors and damage wildlife habitats and ecosystems.’’

‘’I support brownfield solar, small scale solar for farmer’s own use, community-led solar and rooftop solar only.’’

‘’ I understand the need for renewal able energy and the urgency, but taking green spaces, when there is ample roof space available that could benefit home owners as well as the planet, while continuing to keep our green space, which also combats global warming , the difference in temperature between build up and rural areas , proven fact. Additionally, once changed from Green to Brown space they can build houses. Additionally it is known that the best energy source for UK to generate is through wind not sun’’

‘’If all warehouses were forced to install solar panels and small wind turbines these solar farms would be unnecessary.’’

‘’ If the alternative is housing in the future then a solar farm is preferable, but neither is good option for the village. I am concerned about the impact this will have on increasing flooding in the future and on traffic in the village.’’

‘’I'm really concerned about the loss of such a large amount of agricultural land farmed by an award winning farmer who does not want to give up the land.’’

‘’ It’s just a financial investment for the German company, they say it will provide power for 18500 homes, not so, what happens at night! The battery system will not supply enough needed, also, the power goes into the grid! No one local benefits from cheaper energy, its sold on at the market price! Plus they say they can charge up the batteries on a cheaper rate at night then sell it back at the market price in the day! Mental! Printing money ! The farm and area itself is a gem for the community, lovely walks down the lane with great views of the landscape and green space for mental health and well being! Please fight this with all your powers, lets leave this great farm and its associated wildlife in peace, put the Solar arrays on the moorlands and all new build roofs, use brownfield sites and industrial building roofs! There’s plenty of space available, it’s just easier and more profitable to plant them in lovely flat fields! There needs to be a change in the law to stop this now before its too late! The landowners cant be blamed for taking the money, the tenant wont be paying anything like the £6.400.000 over the 40 years the solar company will pay him at an acre will they, everything is profit before people, hiding behind the Green renewable agenda !  The amount of new housing being built in North East Derbyshire easily cancel out any of these solar panel areas due to the fact they are all serviced by Gas Boilers! People need to wake up!’’

‘’ It's not temporary, it's the rest of most of our lives. It's going to make the bridleway unsafe for horse riders. It's going to leave an award winning tenant farmer without his land. It's going to cost a fortune to remove eventually by which time the company responsible may not exist, leaving the local authorities to deal with it.’’

‘’I've heard very conflicting things. You say the land isn't fit for farming.... but it is farmed. Contradictions lead to mistrust in my opinion. In principle it sounds great but the loss of green spaces is real. Why can't this be moved into spaces that aren't residential?’’

‘’Long term contracts supported by govt/taxpayer. Lack of commercial scrutiny and long tern commercial viability (compared to other uses e.g. farming woodland or housing). Pollution/recycling issues. Increased risk of flooding, heat island.’’

‘’ Loss of agricultural land and the feeling that the development would remove our village status and move us into a more industrial area.’’

‘’ Loss of habitat, injury/death to wildlife, noise pollution from the inverters, NO long-term data on health implications, potential fire issues, adverse illnesses to animals (foxes, rabbits, horses, cows, sheep etc), EMF radiation? What happens to the structures at the end of their lifespan? Can all the parts be recycled or will it form part of landfill? Will the elements in the structure cause pollution in the ground?  Will the structures create shadows - if so, will this impact on the surrounding grasses and plants?’’

‘’ Loss of more green belt land for development with no concern for local people.’’

‘’ Loss of productive farm land. Farm land has been down grade/ It is much more productive than is being made out.’’

‘’Morton has seen massive housing development over the last 10 years. We are losing green spaces throughout the village. The proposed solar farm is huge in size will be on well used quality agricultural land. It offers no benefit to the village and will devastate the wildlife and green spaces that surrounds it. The proposed site, if approved will be almost as big as the village itself. We have had enough development as a village I don't want to see more fields lost with no benefit to residents and devastation to the wildlife habitats.’’

‘’ Solar is a great energy source, but we should not be putting it in fields. The panels should be on the roofs of the major commercial buildings such as distribution hubs etc. Or as a roof on carparks.

This proposal is way too large for the planned area.’’

‘’Solar panels should be added to already established industrial buildings instead of taking up countryside and farm land.’’

‘’The area that they are planning to build on is my escape from the world, it is a bit of beautiful Derbyshire countryside in my doorstep. When the world gets too much and my mental health is struggling I walk up the lane into nature to just breathe. I don’t want to walk into a solar farm, that wouldn’t be the space that helps me to relax.’’

 

‘’The area that they are planning to build on is my escape from the world, it is a bit of beautiful Derbyshire countryside in my doorstep. When the world gets too much and my mental health is struggling I walk up the lane into nature to just breathe. I don’t want to walk into a solar farm, that wouldn’t be the space that helps me to relax.’’

‘’The developers have said this is poor Agricultural land.  This is an out and out lie. This is green washing at its best.  This is a totally inappropriate place for such a development.  It is just easy money for the developers and not considering the local area at all.  It is total rubbish what they are using as justification for this site.  How do I benefit.  Nothing.’’

‘’The development takes no consideration for the new Davidson homes building residential estate and would be visible from there and surrounding local spaces such as parks.’’

‘’The loss of more green space in Morton is very concerning. We’ve had two large housing developments and now this. The village is becoming unrecognisable. The health implications are not known so should not be in close proximity to houses, like the proposed site. it does not look very easily accessible and Id be concerned at how emergency services would gain access if required. There are better and more efficient ways of generating green energy without solar farms with production nearly non-existent in winter.  If it was to significantly reduce the energy bills in Morton as compensation for having the site, I would be slightly less opposed.’’

‘’ There are ample brown field sites across the UK urgent needing regeneration. These should be considered first before impacting on any green field location.’’

‘’This is old technology in a world of progress. There are better, less destructive and more efficient ways to create green energy. The solar farm just being completed between Alfreton and Shirland is tiny compared to this, and the one refused planning - yet it is huge when you go past it. This is mass destruction of the countryside. We rely on attracting people to north Derbyshire for tourism, the come to see the beautiful county we have, not another flipping solar farm! The smart money is not going into these massive, low efficiency, cheap built solar farms.’’

‘’ This is the only accessible country walk in Morton for pushchairs and wheelchairs.’’

‘’This proposal is completely in the wrong location. There are numerous large scale industrial units which could accommodate solar panels rather than the easy money option of development in the countryside. The claim in the planning application of this being 'poor agricultural land is a blatant lie & anyone who knows the area will testify to this.’’

‘’This proposed industrial scale development of green agricultural land immediately adjacent to the rural village of Morton will completely destroy the character of the village and local landscape of this historic farming village. This proposed eyesore will completely swallow most of the green space immediately north of this conservation area village, destroying the character of a rural area that has been farmed for centuries. The size and scale of the solar farm when combined with adjacent existing solar farms is completely disproportionate to other local developments and will intrude on the lives of everyone in the local area. It will be visible from miles around, forever destroying the rural north Derbyshire landscape, affecting not only local residents but also anyone visiting the area.

This solar farm offers absolutely no benefit to the local community, simply serving the profits of the developer. By destroying the beautiful local landscape, people will likely be deterred from visiting the are or moving there in future, harming the local economy and leading to further decline of the area.’’

‘’ Too much impact on all aspects of life, wild life and human alike.’’

‘’ We already have a solar farm with 2nd proposed extension it will be 2nd largest in UK. Developer has stated its poor quality farmland but has yielded crops year after year - what else are they lying about.’’

‘’We need to support green power generation, and ignore the selfish NIMBY culture. It's for the greater good.’’

‘’We need to up our use of green energy everything is opposed unless it’s half million pound houses this appears to be how I see it.’’

‘’ We should give priority to this type of projects, instead of blocking them. People not aware enough of climate change and its consequences for the future.’’

‘’ When new factories and houses are being built in n the area, I don't understand why green space needs to be sacrificed for solar generation when more and more roof space is being made available.

Sizable grid connections will already need to be established for the new buildings. So local infrastructure is already developed to take the electricity load. Instead we appear to be duplicating electrical infrastructure for power generation and power use!’’

‘’ Why use green sites, business, homes, motorway central reservation should be considered first.’’

‘’ Would like to know not about the visual impact assessment,  but would expect the application to include mitigation where required.’’

‘’ Yes this is the last village productive farm and should be protected for future generations. Excellent crop per acre figures, great countryside views, lies about how much power site will generate. 18,500 homes to be powered, not when it turns dark they wont. Solar panels are hazardous waste! solar power is known to only be 11% efficient. Not the answer to out power needs 7 at the expense of countryside.’’

‘’ Yes, we are sat on oil and gas in this country, use that.’’

‘’ Yet again this is about profit for individuals not about the environment. A massive bid will be submitted and some of it will be agreed without any thought for local residents.’’