East Herts Green Party have been consulted about the development of a solar panel farm at Wickham Hall. We visited the farm on 16th August to discuss the proposals with the owner. We would support the development of a solar farm at this site. Below are our reasons.
- The energy crisis in the UK is urgent as is the climate emergency. We would rather see energy projects that reduce the need to extract more fossil fuels. Moreover, solar power is far quicker to develop than wind. Given the crisis, we need large scale projects like this rather than relying on homeowners/small businesses to put panels on their roofs.
- The farmer has stated the land could be returned to agricultural use in the future. Solar panels will not degrade the quality of the land for agricultural use. Solar arrays are reversible. The land will improve during years of fallow. Much of UK soil is in poor state from generations of farming causing increased need for fertiliser and pesticides.
- The farmer explained that they only grow crops that are suitable for animal feed at Wickham Hall. The profitability of this type of farming is decreasing as people reduce their consumption of meat. Less meat eating is good for the planet. Some fields on the farm have become unprofitable to grow crops on as their shape has been compromised by the new bypass. Farmers can only farm to make a profit.
- The solar panels will be sited close to the grid. Local energy is efficient. The UK loses 9% of electricity in transmission (25 terawatt-hours in 2021 – source Statista.com report by Bruna Alves 6th Aug 2022).
- Whilst we recognise concern by local people about a loss to their amenity whilst walking on public footpaths around this area, we feel the commitments to plant more trees and hedgerows as well as create new paths will mitigate this loss.
- We like the farmer’s plans to increase biodiversity on his farm and around the solar panels. We think that with further expert consultation this could be strengthened even more. Biodiversity should be considered at the earliest opportunity. The scheme will need an Ecological Management Plan. A strategic plan that will conserve existing species, conserve, or create core areas of biodiversity and connect these areas to neighbouring farms and land users. Grazing animals should be a part of the plan. East Herts Green Party would be keen to provide input into this. Meanwhile this brochure is a good starting point about how to create wildlife habitats on solar farms.
- EHGP request that should the solar farm be approved, planning officers will add conditions to ensure that a site Biodiversity Net Gain of a minimum 10% is required and that the site will be returned to Green field rather than brown field status after the 40 year period has elapsed.
- We are excited by the proposals the farmer has in the future which we feel will also improve the environment in the local area. These included ideas around vertical farming, providing locally sourced food and park and ride facilities. The introduction of vertical farming could really reduce negative impacts on the environment through the production of food grown and consumed locally.