Massive opposition is mounting to plans to create what is believed to be the biggest solar farm in the country on the protected landscape of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Beauty.
English Heritage and Natural England have joined the campaign launched by ANOB, whose director Henry Oliver, told Marlborough News Online that solar farm location is “completely nonsensical and strikes at the heart of our stunning and fragile landscape.”
A seven-week consultation on the proposal to site around 150,000 proposed ground-mounted PV arrays producing around 41MW of electricity on 200 acres (80.5 ha) of land at the former RAF Wroughton airfield has now been closed by Swindon Borough Council.
It is expected to debate the proposal later this month.
The site is larger than the nearby village of Chiseldon, which has a population 2,600, and will cover an area of more than 100 football pitches.
Although its supporters say it would be a major contributor to renewable energy resources, the project is causing a major solar storm because the development is within a nationally protected landscape.
The solar farm would be particularly visible from the Ridgeway National Trail, described as the country’s oldest road and the Barbury Castle Iron Age hill fort.
And it could also be seen from parts of the World Heritage site at Avebury, famous for its Neolithic Sarsen stones.
The AONB Unit has written asking the Secretary of State to intervene if the plan gets the go-ahead from Swindon councillors. Specifically it has requested the ‘unprecedented’ application should be “called in” due to its size, location in an AONB contrary to national policy, Swindon Borough Swindon Council’s own planning policy and the council’s own interest in the application.
The council’s own Landscape Officer has also raised an objection based on landscape impact of the giant solar farm.
Hugh Beamish, Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments at English Heritage, told Marlborough News Online: “We have been concerned about this proposal from the outset. This is, in our view, entirely the wrong site for this development.
“Substantial harm to designated heritage assets of the highest significance — such as scheduled monuments including their settings — will only be permitted in wholly exceptional circumstances. We cannot see how this proposal would meet the criteria of ‘wholly exceptional’ development.”
Natural England has assessed this application, which has resulted in Alison Howell, lead advisor for its Land Use Team, declaring: “The development will have the effect of bringing the urban / developed character of Swindon to the foot of the Downs and into the AONB.
“This area is characterised by some of the most emblematic features of the North Wessex Downs, among them the Ridgeway, – the oldest road in England – running along the top of the scarp, the Uffington White Horse on the scarp face, and Avebury on the open Downs Plain, forming part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site.
“This is a landscape that feels as though it has hardly changed over the centuries.”
Charlotte Riggs, the landscape architect for Swindon Council, has also objected, stating that the solar panels would cover approximately 50 per cent of a former airfield constructed at a time of national emergency.
“The development will be detrimental to the landscape setting of these scheduled ancient monuments,” she protested.
And one local resident, Mr George Paton, from Hook, Swindon wrote to the council’s planners stating: “This planning application is totally in the wrong place and the planning application must be turned down.”
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