Residents in one of Britain’s most historic villages say they fear their community could feel “like a prison” if proposals for a vast solar farm, covering an area equivalent to around 200 football pitches, are given the go-ahead.
Plans for 132,000 solar panels on land surrounding Brailsford in Derbyshire have sparked concern among villagers, who argue the development would damage the character of their countryside setting.
Brailsford is among the oldest villages in England, having been recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, when its population was listed as just 24 people.
British Solar Renewables (BSR) has submitted a planning application to place large solar panels across nearly 300 acres of farmland immediately to the east of the village.
The site is owned by the aristocratic Chichester family and would be leased to BSR for several decades under the proposed scheme.
If approved, Brailsford Solar Park would become one of England’s biggest solar developments, with an 87-megawatt capacity capable of generating enough electricity for more than 16,000 homes.
However, documents indicate the project would come very close to nearby homes, with three properties set to be entirely encircled by the solar farm.
The panels, proposed to stand up to nine feet tall, would sit only yards from some gardens and be overseen around the clock by CCTV masts and security towers.
Dad-of-three James Hodson said he would likely have to keep working for longer if the solar farm is built because the value of his property would decrease
The housing complex where James lives with his family that could soon be surrounded by solar panels
Plans show over a dozen large fields filled with solar panels some very close to gardens
One of those against the plans is James Hodson, 60, who bought a converted farmhouse in 1999.
Ironically, before completing on the purchase, he had to sign an agreement to keep the area ‘quiet and countrified’.
The accountant fears being surrounded by solar panels on all sides, ruining his countryside views and making his home unsellable.
The dad-of-three said: ‘It’s about 300 acres of land which completely surrounds us.
‘The access lane will be shut off to us and we’ll have to access it through a gated system.
‘All these solar fields are surrounded by these 8ft high fences with CCTV cameras we will have to drive through a half-a-mile to our home which will be like driving into a prison.
‘When we moved we bought the house off the landowners and part of the contract was that we had to keep it quiet and countrified.
‘They didn’t want us to store a caravan there, we had to keep it quiet.
‘We weren’t allowed to make any noise. We thought they seemed to be reasonable people but then this has happened.
‘The nearest panels will be 25m away, so you’ll have the fence and the motion sensor lights which can go off at any point.
‘The developer said they will plant hedges but they will take years to fully grow in, that won’t benefit us.
‘Our longer-term plan was to downsize in the next ten years. We were going to use the proceeds of the house to fund that but that dream is gone now.
‘I’ll have to work longer now and maybe we won’t be able to sell the house.’
Jennifer Smith lives in the same housing complex and was surprised by the plans because she has never been able to buy any of the land
The space between the inner red line and the outer red line could soon be crammed full of panels
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More than 70 locals crammed into the village golf club last month to discuss their opposition to the solar farm.
James said: ‘There were so many of us at the meeting, it was almost standing room only. Everyone around here is deeply concerned.
‘Brailsford is growing and the more people arrive the more they’ll use the footpaths and amenities.
‘You won’t achieve your relaxing walk with the paths blocked off by a giant solar farm.
‘We’re all for alternative forms of energy, but it’s got to be done in an organised manner.
‘But it’s being done by funds, probably from overseas, and there’s a lot of these in the wrong places by the wrong sort of people.’
Worried residents have until the end of this month to lodge their opposition to the plans before Derbyshire Dales District Council make a ruling later this year.
Jennifer Smith, 58, and her husband Andrew moved into a barn conversion in April 2000.
James said driving past the CCTV and lights would be like driving into a prison
Jennifer said the ‘beautiful environment’ they have enjoyed will be ‘ruined’
The officer manager, who has two grandchildren, said: ‘There’s one further farm on the estate and they’re tenant farmers, and have been for 34 years – they stand to lose their farming career.
‘He’s farmed it in a very ecological way. He doesn’t cut his hay until July so that the ground-nesting birds can nest and have their chicks.
‘If it goes through he will be kicked out and his livelihood ruined.
‘The developer, British Solar Renewals, will become a tenant, and will be renting the land off the Chichester family.
‘The land and what you can earn from it is like a big golden carrot that gets dangled with all of these things.
‘We’ve never been able to buy the land, which is quite frustrating. We tried to buy a section when our daughter was little as she always wanted a horse.
‘We thought the land was precious to them, protected even. So it came as a bit of a shock when we found out what the plan was.
‘It’s going to be 132,000 panels and they will be ground mounted behind fences with 4.5m high posts for CCTV and speakers.
‘It will have the feeling of living in a solar prison. It will wrap right round us.
‘They’re supposed to be leaving buffer zones, they’re going to be approximately 100m from our boundary. It’s going to change the area, completely.
‘It was such an idyllic view of the countryside, which is why we wanted to ultimately live here.
‘We’ve been living, breathing and eating it for the last few months. It is pretty overwhelming.
‘We’re also going to be living and walking about in a construction site, so safety is paramount. We don’t want to live in that, no chance.’
Residents were told that, if approved, the solar farm would start generating electricity in 2032.
Jennifer said the timescale meant she would struggle to sell her home before construction started.
She added: ‘It was never our intention to go anywhere, we are established.
‘There’s going to be a consequence in value, who’s going to want to buy a property surrounded by a construction site. But we want to stay here.
‘It’s been a beautiful environment to have and enjoy, which will ultimately be ruined.
‘I like renewable energy, I think there’s a place for it on roof tops or car parks, but not on valuable green land.’
Carla Hardaker, development director at BSR, said the company was keen to work with the community.
She said: ‘We originate, develop, build and then operate and maintain all of our own projects, so we do recognise that we are going to be neighbours in the communities that we go into for typically 40 years.
‘In order to manage these relationships we are out on site and we carry out very robust surveys as part of the application to ensure that we’re in an appropriate environment or we’ve selected an appropriate site.’
