About the Development:

It is the intention of Pegasus Group on behalf of Bluestone Farm 1 LTD to develop a ground mounted solar photovoltaic arrays (with a capacity of up to 46MW), spanning over 300 Acres on land at Court Farm, Ponthir Monmouthshire. This spans across three local authority areas – Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport. The development will be in situ for a period of 40 years, then removed. 

Reason for Petition

Whilst I strongly support the transition to renewable energy and acknowledge that urgent need to combat climate change, this must not come at the expense of our food security, rural livelihoods, and the preservation of our natural environment. 

Pegasus have submitted a screening to Welch Government to negate the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment. Local Councils (Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Newport) have been asked to respond. It is my opinion that such a large-scale development will have a detrimental impact on the rich and diverse biodiversity and wildlife of the area. 

Opposition

1)       Loss of Agricultural Land: 

The proposed development will span 304 Acers, approximately 200 acres of this land is within Monmouthshire. Most of the land the development sits on is grade 2 agricultural land. There is approximately 47% of Grade 2 agricultural land in Monmouthshire. The proposed would removes acres of high-quality farmland from food production when local, sustainable food security is more important than ever. We need to afford more protection to the farming community, not take away agricultural land. 

 

2)       Impact on Rural Communities: 

This project threatens the agricultural heritage, landscape, beauty, and wellbeing of residents. They do not want to see their countryside industrialised. 

 

3)       Biodiversity Concerns:

Large scale solar developments can disrupt local ecosystems, hedgerows and wildlife habitats, especially when they are not sensitively integrated into the landscape – I have visited the entirety of the site, and it is not sensitively integrated. 

 

4)       Inadequate infrastructure: 

The regular transportation of materials and equipment will necessitate the sustained use of heavy goods vehicles. The existing infrastructure, being rural, narrow country lanes were not built to handle the size and weight of heavy construction traffic associated with such a large-scale development. The increased traffic will accelerate road deterioration and poses further risk to wildlife when hedgerows will be damaged. The increased, unsuitable traffic will also pose a significant risk to walkers, cyclists, bikers and horse riders. 

 

5)       Better Alternatives Exist:

Brownfield sites, industrial rooftops council owned rooftops, new build developments, over car parks and other less ecologically valuable areas should be prioritised for solar development. 

 

6)       Contradiction in Policy: 

The proposal appears to conflict with Welsh Government commitments to protect farmland, enhance food resilience, and support rural economies. 

 

We call on the Welsh Government to: 

·        Strengthen planning guidance to protect farmland from inappropriate development

·        Promote renewable energy projects that are community led, well sited, and in harmony with food production and nature conservation. 

·        Reject any future proposals that convert prime agricultural land into large scale solar farms.