The University of Surrey is seeking to become Net Zero. As part of this initiative the University of Surrey is proposing to build a Solar Power Farm to the west of the planned Blackwells Farm development over the railway to the south of Wood Street Village.
This is the first substantial Solar Farm proposed in the Borough as opposed to small arrays associated with domestic properties. The proposed Solar Farm will cover three fields adjoining the AONB and AGLV.
The proposed Solar Farm is situated on Grade 3 Agricultural land in locations that particularly for the Northern plots are well screened. Solar Farms to a degree can be treated as similar to commercial woodland with the crop (Solar Panels) in place until a natural end of the asset. Once the solar Panels reach their end of operational life they can be removed or replaced with up-to-date equipment. One end-of-life aspect needs consideration to re-enforce that the Solar Farm does not set a precedent for development.
The Solar Farm will be accessed via upgraded access tracks from the Hogs Back and there will be associated infrastructure, fencing, infrared cameras, motion detection system, underground cable connections.
The southern field Little Misley is visible from various locations on the Hogs Back and we would urge its impact is assessed on the Hogs Back from the west. The current application ignores these distant views, this should be rectified to allow a better understanding of impact.
We have taken photos of the fields due to covered with Solar Panels see these below. The application can be found on the GBC Planning Portal Case Number 22/P/02178
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