STOP DALTON SOLAR FARM is a group of residents who are concerned that playing the renewable energy card seems to override all other concerns about the environment.

The Secretary of State for communities and Local Government said 'meeting our energy goals should NOT be used to justify the wrong development in the wrong location... protecting the global environment is not an excuse to trash the local environment.' but this is exactly what NEWenergy for the world intends to do on the outskirts of Dalton. They intend to fill 25 acres of green fields with 30,208 solar panels and surround it with high mesh fencing. The developers insist it will blend into the landscape but in reality it will totally destroy the character of this landscape. The proposed development is to be sited in rolling, undulating farmland surrounded by a network of well used footpaths. It's on a hillside so is impossible to screen with hedges and trees and because of its elevated position it can be seen for miles around.

There will be no economic advantages for the area, the cold facts are we will have a non UK based company trashing our local countryside for profit from the governments massive renewable energy subsidies

Its within a County Wildlife Site which contains a variety of habitats and species including birds of prey and bats.

It will seriously detract from the historical significance to Dalton of the old iron ore mines at Mouzell which border the development.

The simple fact is that the UK's positioning on the planet means we are an extremely inefficient receiver of solar energy, if the developers were not receiving huge amounts of tax payers money it wouldn't be worth their while.

So stop this destruction of the countryside and put solar collectors where the space can't be used for anything else like roof tops.