Development too excessive for area

THERE is a planning application for a 162-acre solar farm in Llanedi. This site is adjacent to an existing 70-acre solar farm in Tycroes with a further 55-acre application already approved.

Altogether this would make a block of 287 acres of solar panels. A block this size would pose problems for wildlife, would mean a large loss of productive farmland and the loss of a farm tenancy for a younger generation. In this country we are nowhere near self-sufficiency in food and any further production loss is not appropriate.

While we support renewable energy and have solar panels on our roof, we feel that this development is excessive for this or any area. Wildlife and food production would be sacrificed for electricity and profits exported to England. Placement of solar panels on roofs and large buildings should be prioritised. We should be encouraged much more to reduce energy consumption, especially as the currently proposed fix for fossil fuel elimination entails increased electric cars and other needs. Viewed from Garnswllt the main vista would be of one large block of black panels.

Climate crisis, loss of habitat and loss of biodiversity are all interconnected. What effect would a largescale system like this have on the local climate? The precautionary principal should be applied so that we don’t end up, again, with problems we haven’t foreseen.

Biodiversity, Sir David Attenborough argues, is the answer to these problems. The significance of biodiversity in maintaining ecosystems both in our oceans and on land is not just so animals and plants can flourish, but so humanity can survive.

For future generations we need to consider our way forward carefully. BR & PA Gill

Llanedi