Proposed Lime Down solar park 'would cost £1.8m in lost tourism' – BBC

A controversial solar farm would cost a local economy nearly £1.8m in lost tourism spending if approved, according to a council document.
The sum would be lost during each year of construction of Lime Down Solar Park, a 878-hectare site north of the M4 near Malmsbury, said Wiltshire Council.
Due to the size of the project, planning permission will be decided by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Wiltshire Council has prepared a briefing document outlining its criticisms ahead of an extraordinary meeting on 6 January, when councillors will sign off their formal response to the plans. Developer Island Green Power estimates that the project would take two years to build.
The developer has also said the project would power 115,000 homes and "support national and regional aims to decarbonise our electricity systems and bolster our energy security".
But the current Liberal Democrat-led cabinet of Wiltshire Council opposes the project, as the previous Conservative-led cabinet did.
The plan has also attracted fierce opposition from locals.
The briefing paper notes the scheme's benefits for the UK's net zero targets, but states there are "significant adverse impacts" for the local community, economy and environment.
It said the construction phase will offer a "short-term jobs uplift" but that "a reduction in tourism spending of £1.76m per year" was anticipated during this period, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The document predicts "the loss of up to 20 agricultural jobs and 50 tourism jobs".
It states that the reassigning of agricultural land will equate to the loss of approximately 5,000 tonnes of crops annually.
The park is expected to cause "substantial, long-term harm to landscape character" and may pose flood risks, the paper adds.
The council is also concerned about the ability of the area's narrow roads to cope with HGVs.
The document described how council planning officers found it difficult to navigate the thousands of pages of documents submitted by Island Green Power in support of its application.
It said the "volume of material and the amount of repetition and cross-referencing within the application" would make it difficult for the community to engage with the proposals too.
The briefing paper concludes that "the council does not support the proposal as submitted".
Those eligible to comment on the proposed development can do so before 9 January.
Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
Womad Festival is returning to a new home in Wiltshire in 2026 having taken a year off.
A water company says a wet November has helped to refill reservoirs and groundwater sources.
Construction of the Sunnica solar farm is yet to begin, 18 months after the government approved it.
The steam is generated as a by-product of nearby electricity-generating turbines.
From bus depots being demolished to controversial solar farms, here is what to expect in 2026.
Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
 

source

This entry was posted in Renewables. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply