Residents of a quaint Derbyshire village are facing the prospect of being surrounded by solar panels as part of Labour's net zero plans. British Solar Renewables (BSR) has submitted an application to install panels on almost 300 acres (121 hectares) of farmland in Brailsford, a village between Derby and Ashbourne.
Village 'like entering a prison'
Local resident James Hodson, who has lived at Top Wild Park Farm for 28 years, told the BBC that accessing his home would be "like entering a prison" due to fences and security lights. "We're going to be surrounded by the development which has 8ft (2.4m) fences and security lights around it," he said. "Our entrance down the lane will be through a fence tunnel so it will essentially be like entering a prison."
His neighbour Jennifer Smith said the views are "irreplaceable", adding that "once this land has gone they're not making any more". Mr Hodson urged residents to lodge their opposition with Derbyshire Dales District Council, which has the final say on the proposals.
Developers' response
BSR said the area of land is located off Main Road, Brailsford, Ashbourne, DE6 3DA. "We are currently in the early design development stages of our proposals, and we are undertaking extensive surveying and planning work," it said. The developers said the proposed solar park will generate enough renewable energy to power around 16,060 homes every year, helping to save approximately 22,396 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
BSR said it has reached out to affected residents and would create a £275,000 fund for the local community. Carla Hardaker, development director at BSR, said the company wants to work with the community. "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," she said. "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."
Net zero commitment
Labour has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, meaning total greenhouse gas emissions would be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere.
