Sutton residents fear new solar farm will harm wildlife and be 'blot on the landscape'

Hamilton Solar has put forward the plans for the 23-acre land on Hamilton Hill, off Cauldwell Road, between Sutton and Mansfield, in the hope of creating a renewable energy source for thousands of local residents.

The developers say the farm will ‘generate clean, renewable energy and make a valuable contribution to tackling the climate emergency’.

But many residents who live around the site are concerned that it will threaten local wildlife, interfere with the area’s heritage and stand as a ‘blot on the landscape’.

Campaigner Laura Gapski said: “Residents of Hamilton Hill are furious to find themselves with a matter of weeks to respond to the solar plans, which have been clearly been deliberated over for years.

“Our main grievances are that the site is a scheduled monument that should be preserved, in addition to the aesthetics of the site, and the wildlife it stands to affect.

“Daily sightings of rabbits, deer and hare by local residents and visitors demonstrate that local wildlife will suffer through the destruction of their habitat. We question the integrity of the wildlife survey carried out, which revealed a single rabbit hole in a 17-acre field.

“Any hedging that is being planted to counter the development will take years to establish so residents and passers by will be stuck with the blot on the landscape.

“And health concerns have also been raised regarding the electromagnetic radiation emanating from the site.”

In addition, residents have expressed fears that the glare and reflection caused by the panels will ultimately reach windows of nearby homes, presenting fire hazards.

Laura said farmers might also be affected, with the amount of arable land in the area constantly under threat.

She added: “Farmers are dependent on the land in question for their arable crops – and arable land locally continues to be scarce and decimated by housing plans.

“With current food shortages impacting on the local and national economy, established and nurtured arable land should be the preserve of the community.”

A number of residents have filed official complaints against the plans, with a decision due to be made on the development by October 25.

Historic England has also written to Ashfield District Council to advise against the development on heritage grounds.

The letter reads: “Hamilton Hill is a scheduled monument designated on the basis of its national importance by the Secretary of State.

“This is a monument whose identity and function is likely to have shifted through time, however its role as a place of public assembly / moot in the early medieval period placed as a-top a prominent natural formation seems evident.

“The scheme as proposed will substantively compromise the surviving rural landscape setting of the monument, resulting in substantial harm to its significance.”

Benefits

Documents published by Hamilton Solar confirm three ‘small-to-medium sized’ agricultural fields would be used to house the solar farm.

The company says this land was chosen due to its close links with a nearby electricity substation and because it is near a large industrial area.

If built, the solar farm will generate a capacity of up to seven megawatts, which equates to powering in excess of 2,300 homes a year with clean energy.

In statements submitted to Ashfield Council, developers said: “It is located away from the settlement of Ashfield, does not have public footpaths within it and will affect only a small number of residential properties. Additional screening will be provided to minimise visibility even further.

“The solar farm will be positioned on the lower grade agricultural land and grazing of sheep can continue throughout operation, providing a dual benefit of agriculture and energy generation.”

A spokesperson for Third Revolution Projects, the planning agent behind the Hamilton Solar plans, told the Chad: “We aim to be good neighbours and we want to put people’s fears to rest. We hope everyone will see that all of these things have been well thought through.

“We’ve been very conscious about the proximity to the scheduled monument. It’s not the hill itself, it’s a specific point on the hill.

“At one time, we were going to develop on both sides of the hill but this has now been scaled back to one side – purely due to the risk of harming that monument.

“An extensive ecology survey concluded that there were no protected species of wildlife on the site likely to be affected by the plans. But more importantly, we have put together an environmental enhancement strategy on how we plan to improve the site alongside the solar farm, including planting hedgerows around it, which will also help to screen it from view. Over time, the biodiversity state of this site will become much better than it currently is.

"We’re very conscious of many businesses and industrial development in the area that are worried about rising energy costs. While one solar farm isn’t going to solve the problem on its own, it is part of the solution. The choice of location here was very much influenced by the needs of the local area.

“With the efforts we’ve gone to to minimise the amount of harm, along with the energy from the solar farm, plus the biodiversity, we think the benefits locally are very significant.”

You can view the planning documents here.