Solar farm plan for near sacred pilgrimage route is savaged by locals who say it will make it look like a prisoner of war camp

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Plans to build a solar farm near a sacred pilgrimage route have been savaged by locals who argue it will make the site look like a prisoner of war camp.
The rural village of Monk Sherborne, Hampshire lies along St James's Way, the English segment of the Camino Way, a path which leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and has been used by devout Christians for 1,000 years.
The Camino Way became the first road on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1993.
But families living in Monk Sherborne have expressed serious concerns over proposals for a brand new green energy site which is 216 acres in size - the equivalent of more than 100 football pitches - and will feature an almost nine-foot-high wall (2.6m) around the outside.
Not only will the Stokes Lane Solar Farm sit on the sacred route, it will also surround the village, which has 400 residents and an average house price of over £1million.
More than 50 objections to the project have been submitted already with many citing the importance of St James's Way.
Retired consultant and local councillor Paul Cave, 72, said: 'Monk Sherborne is a little village with around only 110 developments. The solar panels will sit around three metres off the ground and it will dominate the entire landscape.
'With the over two-metre-high wall around the outside it will look like Stalag Luft III. It will be like a scene from the Great Escape.
'I know that solar power is required but there are so many other, less historic areas that should be used instead. We often see tourists walking the St James Way down there and they will just have this hanging over them.
'The building work will block part of the way which will be such a shame as we see lots of tourists walking down here and enjoying the route, especially in the summer.
'To see the walk and the church, two major religious sites, affected is a real issue for the area.
'But this will also make the farm untenable. Will the land truly recover when the 40 years is finished? Many people in the area will do well to be there to find out.
'I think the people that made the decisions did so on Google Maps from their desks. We haven't seen them out there at the right times looking at the effects it will have on people.'
The solar farm is also expected to surround numerous Roman sites, including a recently uncovered villa, a Grade I-listed church and the grave of George Austen, the brother of celebrated author Jane, which lies in the churchyard.
The land is owned by Queen's College, Oxford.
Local councillor Simon Minas-Bound added: 'I just can't believe that out of all the places in the area this is the one that they chose to do it. Rare animals are thriving there and this will take that away.
'While I recognise the importance of renewable energy, this proposal raises significant concerns relating to the local landscape, ecology, and heritage that I believe outweigh any potential benefits in this location.
'The introduction of a large-scale industrial installation such as a solar farm would irreversibly alter the character of this sensitive landscape, damaging its visual amenity and setting a dangerous precedent for future developments.
'I just feel like there is a risk of this happening up and down the country.'
Stokes Lane Solar Farm will provide enough energy to power 9,390 homes per year and is expected to operate for the next 40 years.
The solar panels will be between three and 10 feet (1-3m) high.
The work, which is being undertaken by Solar2, is estimated to take around 12 months.
Meanwhile, Kim Fleming, a 60-year-old retired midwifery sister who has lived in the village for 18 years, said: 'This is a proposal for a solar farm on a massive industrial scale, which will directly impact on the extremely small yet historically significant village of Monk Sherborne.
'We are probably one of the closest residents to the farm and we are just so worried about the noise and other effects of the solar farm. We are just going to get swamped by the farm.
'We are not against solar panels but it's just the size of the plant. We have put a lot into the village and we want to maintain its beauty.
'Queen's College Oxford have a lot of alternative land that they could use. If they are not ashamed of building this site then why won't they put their name on it?
'We don't want the village's name on it as it has nothing to do with us.
'We just feel totally betrayed by Queens College. We feel this massive solar farm will engulf this village, swallow it up and it will not have any benefit for the village in any way despite any promises being suggested.'
The 68-mile British leg of the sacred route stretches from Reading to Southampton before restarting in the Pyrenees and eventually finishing in northwestern Spain.
Monk Sherborne has a rich history, first getting a mention in the Domesday Book, and Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Louis later rented a house there.
Concerns have also been raised about how the plant will affect the village's local wildlife, including skylarks, hares, owls and badgers.
Company director Bryony Crowther, 51, said: 'This is just an unbelievable proposal for this little village. It's removing active farmland and the tenant farmer will not be able to farm it.
'It's a foreign company using panels imported from China with all of the associated carbon footprint, needing over 4km of 3m high fencing, many tons of concrete and digging up the road in Monk Sherborne to connect to the site at Morgaston Road.
'Nothing against solar per se, but this is not the right village to destroy by putting up a solar farm in it which is bigger nearly than the entire village itself. Please, please see sense and help protect our English villages and communities.
'There is plenty of land available to use which would not have as destructive an effect on a village which is meant to be conserved for our future generations.'
Monk Sherborne Parish Council's objection letter stated: 'While we acknowledge the role of renewable energy in meeting national sustainability targets, this proposal is unsuitable for its intended location due to the significant and lasting harm it would cause to the local landscape, ecology, and heritage assets.
'This proposal represents an unacceptable intrusion into a nationally valued landscape, with serious implications for biodiversity, agricultural land use, and heritage conservation.
'The cumulative harm outweighs any perceived local benefit of renewable energy generation in this instance.'
The planning, design and access statement said: 'Careful site selection has been undertaken in order to ensure that an efficient, technically and economically viable solar farm can be developed without causing significant adverse environmental impacts.'
A spokesperson for Solar2 said: 'Viewed within the context of the climate emergency, energy security, environmental degradation, and growing risks to UK food production, this proposal is a necessary and urgent response.
Many complaints mention St James's Way. The 68-mile British leg of the sacred route stretches from Reading to Southampton before restarting in the Pyrenees and eventually finishing in northwestern Spain
'Solar farms are one of the few scalable, immediate tools we have to tackle these interconnected crises.
'We believe the need for projects such as Stokes Lane Solar Farm outweigh their minimal and localised impacts-a view that we explain consistently through our engagement strategy.
'This is not just about energy generation-it's about resilience, decarbonisation, and leaving future generations with a liveable planet.'
Queen's College, Oxford has been approached for comment.