Villagers near Brackley campaign against plans to build 100-acre solar farm just 'metres from their gardens'

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Residents of a village near Brackley have rallied against plans to build a 100-acre solar farm just 'metres from their gardens'.

Residents of Whitfield have raised their objections to the plans submitted by Elgin Energy yesterday (Monday, January 21).

They say the proposed 100-acre solar farm would be within metre’s of their gardens and damage the natural beauty of the area.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Villagers have also raised concerns about the disruption construction lorries will cause them when the farm is being built.

Residents have raised objections to plans to build a 100-acre solar panel farm near their village.Residents have raised objections to plans to build a 100-acre solar panel farm near their village.
Residents have raised objections to plans to build a 100-acre solar panel farm near their village.

One concerned resident is 73-year-old Bo Wallace, who has lived in the village her entire life and whose garden backs onto the proposed site.

She said: “I'm in my 70s and was born and raised in Whitfield. It's so upsetting that Elgin is proposing to turn our lovely green fields, that are literally in view from my bedroom windows, into sheets of grey solar panels with tall CCTV masts.

“A lady from Elgin even came to my house to ask me where I'd like the panels, but the truth is she was just ticking boxes and trying to catch me out because I don't want them anywhere.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Villagers have raised concerns that the solar panels will attract criminals intent on stealing the panels and result in an increase of crime in the area.

The proposed plans and the view from Bo's window, where the solar panel farm will be located.The proposed plans and the view from Bo's window, where the solar panel farm will be located.
The proposed plans and the view from Bo's window, where the solar panel farm will be located.

They also mention that there is already a solar panel farm between Whitfield and nearby Turweston, and if the new plans are given the green light, their village would be blocked off on two sides by solar panels.

This would not only affect the appearance of the village but also affect walking routes to and from the village, resulting in both public rights of way to the village going through solar panel farms.

Hilary Walton lives in Whitfield and walks every day in the fields around the village. She said: “To have one of the Public Rights of Way (PROWs) already taking us walkers straight through a solar farm is one thing, but to put another solar farm right on our doorstep, metres from gardens and have our other PROW straight through the middle of it is beyond belief.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Elgin also conveniently talk about the 'low' solar panels but the truth is 2.5m high fencing to keep organised crime gangs out and 3m high CCTV cameras all along the route of our most used footpath.

“I am not against renewable energy by any means but would like to see the government focus on the acres of roof space available on warehouses down our motorways rather than perfectly good agricultural land that borders village gardens.”

Elgin Energy Esco Ltd says the proposed “Manor Farm Solar Farm will provide a reliable source of clean renewable energy that will be supplied to domestic and commercial consumers via the District Network Operator (DNO) grid network.

“The Proposed Development would contribute to local and national ‘Net Zero’ targets with an export capacity of up to 30 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. The annual output of the generating station will provide enough clean electricity to meet the annual electricity demand of approximately 11,500 average family homes, with the expectation that this will increase as households become more energy efficient.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Anyone with a view on this proposal can comment on the plans on West Northamptonshire Council’s page until February 20.

To view visit:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1838
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice