Residents of Brailsford, one of the UK's oldest villages recorded in the Domesday Book, are fighting plans for a massive 132,000-panel solar farm that they say will turn their community into a prison. The site, proposed by British Solar Renewables (BSR), would cover nearly 300 acres (121 hectares) of land owned by the aristocratic Chichester family, equivalent to 200 football pitches.
Residents fear loss of countryside and home values
James Hodson, 60, who bought a converted farmhouse in 1999, said the development would surround his home with 8ft-high fences and CCTV cameras. '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,' he said. The father-of-three fears his home will become unsellable, forcing him to work longer and abandon plans to downsize.
Jennifer Smith, 58, who moved into a barn conversion in 2000, said the scheme would ruin her environment and livelihood. '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,' she said. Ms Smith added that she would struggle to sell her home before construction, with electricity generation not expected until 2032.
Scale of the solar park and community opposition
The Brailsford Solar Park would have an 87 megawatt capacity, enough to power over 16,000 homes, and would be one of the largest in England. Plans show three properties would be completely surrounded by 9ft-high panels monitored 24/7 by CCTV and security towers. Over 70 locals attended a meeting at the village golf club to voice opposition. Mr Hodson said, '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.'
Developer's response and next steps
Carla Hardaker, Development Director at BSR, said the company aims to be a good neighbour. '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,' she said. Villagers have until the end of July to lodge objections before Derbyshire Dales District Council makes a ruling later this year.
