In a dispute over a solar farm, residents of a County Durham beauty area have been advised that they have “no right to see.”
Despite neighbors likening it to a “prison camp,” Richmondshire councillors unanimously accepted Northumbrian Water’s proposals to build a solar farm opposite Broken Scar in Darlington.
A fence will be built around 16,000 solar panels as part of the plan.
To combat climate change, residents were informed.
“We are in a climate emergency, councilors proclaimed one in 2019, and that does mean things will have to change in Richmondshire, whether we like it or not,” said Richmondshire District Council leader Angie Dale.
Amsden, chair of the planning committee, informed homeowners that they had no right to view the solar farm’s panels, which would rise to 12 feet (4 meters) over the flood zone.
An official from Northumbrian Water claimed that there were few areas where a solar generator could be easily connected to the energy grid.
The development would allow them to provide all the power needed for their Broken Scar treatment facilities, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
According to the water utility business, an annual carbon dioxide emission reduction of 2,000 tonnes and the production of 9MW of renewable energy would balance more than half a million pounds in energy price rises in the first six months of the project.
Solar panels covering roughly 16,000 square feet of farmland that had been rated “best and most versatile” will have “a substantial detrimental aesthetic impact” on some of the 34 properties that will be directly impacted by the development, according to some residents of those properties.
“This industrial installation will tarnish the neighborhood,” a concerned homeowner warned the committee. Our landscape should be like this, right?”
It will seem not very pleasant in such a gorgeous area, according to another resident, because of the fence and security cameras.
According to them, they were in favor of solar farms in theory. Still, they felt that their proposed site would harm the community’s well-being.
In contrast, Jonathan Bell of Northumbrian Water asserted that leasing the site for 30 years would ensure a stable income regardless of the weather.
