9 hours ago
UK's biggest solar farm ‘will ruin views of the Malvern Hills'
Britain's biggest solar farm will ruin the views of the Malvern Hills if it gets planning permission, residents have warned.
Opponents of plans for a 271-acre solar farm near Powick, Worcestershire, have said it will destroy the natural landscape and pose a fire risk to people living nearby.
Preserve Powick Landscape and Nature (PPLAN), who have already erected signs around the area, marched from Hospital Lane in Powick through parts of the proposed site on Sunday.
They are worried the solar farm will disrupt views of the Malvern Hills, cause harm to local wildlife, and pose fire risks from batteries used to store energy.
Peter Loader, the leader of PPLAN who lives adjacent to the site, has described his concerns over the proposed development, including fire risks and traffic disruptions expected to last at least seven months.
He said the reason he had been co-ordinating the events in opposition to the solar farm 'is primarily the impact on the landscape'.
'There are a lot of people who won't be able to walk through that area – and the Malvern Hills is an area of outstanding natural beauty,' Mr Loader said.
'Both the Malvern Hills Trust and the National Landscape people have objected because the view from the Malvern Hills would clearly be impacted by this site.
'The A449 has more than 20,000 vehicles a day going along it – and that is pretty much the capacity for a single carriageway A-road. Because they need to lay a cable from this side to the nearest substation, they're proposing putting roadworks up for seven months – and that's pretty serious.
'Not only will it affect people's day-to-day lives, with taking children to school, it will also affect ambulances. Many residents are concerned about the fire risk – when they catch fire, they can't be put out.
'When that happens, there's a toxic vapour cloud that forms, and the fairly large housing estate is downwind.'
Steve Lloyd, who lives across from the proposed entrance to the solar farm, said he was worried about increased traffic and noise in the area, as well as the potential fire hazards. He said his greatest concern was 'mainly the size of it'.
'I'm a farmer, and it's so close to my house and my farm. I'm just thinking about what could go wrong. Apparently they can catch fire from the battery storage system,' Mr Lloyd said.
'People are worried about the fire risk and the wildlife. There's also the glare from it, and just the actual size of it. Traffic is also very much a concern – it's on a single-track lane.'
RWE Renewables UK Solar & Storage Ltd, which is behind the plans, told the BBC that the site was close to the National Grid, making it 'the best and most suitable' location for the project.
