A revised application for a large scale industrial solar farm, renamed Whistle Mead, is being proposed again at Little Chalfield. The site is currently productive agricultural land in beautiful countryside surrounded by conservation areas on which a previous application was turned down by the Planning Inspector in 2015. This new scheme is larger in scope, area and number of built elements creating a large scale industrial solar power station sited in the countryside and, in turn, overwhelming a small area where there is already a proliferation of such developments.

Solar wise

If you feel that solar renewables – whilst very important – should be wisely sited, that heritage assets and the countryside are protected, and communities across the county contribute more equally to net zero targets, then please take a moment to register your objection to the Whistle Mead solar planning application by 1st May 2023 by visiting Wiltshire Council website: Submit your objection here

Set out below are some reasons that could be used to support an objection:

• Harm to the significance of heritage assets
  Industrialisation within the setting of the heritage assets would cause harm to their significance.
• Major adverse impact to landscape character
  The introduction of an industrial element would harm landscape character, the magnitude of the change is high, and there would be a major adverse impact.
• Overbearing effects
  The industrial site cannot be screened from view due to the deciduous nature of natural planting and would result in a dominating impact on its surroundings.
• Adverse cumulative impact
  This proposal would bring the number of large scale industrial solar farms within a 5km radius of the parish of Broughton Gifford to 10 creating an adverse cumulative impact.
• Noise pollution and negative effect on amenity
  The battery storage emits industrial noise of twice the level considered a ‘significant adverse impact’ and will negatively effect all passers by and residents.

More detail

2% of the land area of Wiltshire would be fulfilling 40% of the entire county’s target for solar renewables

The Council’s 2030 carbon neutral target for solar renewables is 590MW. The area around Broughton Gifford, Atworth, South Wraxall and Holt is approximately 70km² out of a total 3,485km² and equates to just 2% of Wiltshire. With the addition of Whistle Mead Solar, this tiny area would reach 237MW of solar capacity, nearly half the target for the entire county.

As of November 2022 Wiltshire had 423MW of solar installed, 240MW in construction, 164MW in planning, making a potential total of 827MW which is more solar than any other county in England and a tremendous achievement. Allowing another scheme in an area already over-populated by solar would be an unnecessary burden on both community and countryside.

If passed, Whistle Mead Solar would bring the number of large scale industrial solar farms within a 5km radius of the parish of Broughton Gifford to 10. There are vantage points where 2 or 3 would be seen simultaneously, others can be viewed in a matter of minutes when journeying around the area. This concentrated proliferation equates to mass industrialisation and constitutes an adverse cumulative impact.

The site cannot be screened from view, even with increases in height and depth of planting it would be devoid of leaves during winter allowing clear views of the entire site for 6 months of the year. This would result in a dominating and overbearing impact by the development on its surroundings.

• Battery storage in 18 metal shipping containers with cooling fans
• Control room cabin 3.2m high
• Customer substation
• DNO substation and equipment
• 6 inverter and transformer substations 13m long
• Spare parts container 2.9m high
• Switching station 3.2m high
• 5.7m high meteorological mast and satellite dish
• 2.4m high mounted security cameras x 32
• Metal perimeter fencing and access roads

That is in addition to the 100,000 solar photovoltaic panels 3 metres high spread over 64 acres.

For more information please contact: info@chalfieldsolar.co.uk