Save Rural East Kent

Save our Villages from Solar

Eastry • Elvington • Nonington • Tilmanstone

The planning application has been submitted to Dover District Council. Now is the time to submit your comments!

The planning application for a 122.8 hectare (303.4 acres) Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on grade two agricultural land is being prepared by PACE for submission to Dover District Council.

This will directly impact on the rural communities of Eastry, Elvington, Nonington and Tilmanstone. We have to act now to save our villages from this massive solar farm.

There are a variety of reasons to object to this proposal, including:

The proposal for this development is not in line with the recommendations in the UK Solar Roadmap, published last month.
The land identified is prime food production land (grade 1-3) producing tonnes of crops every year for human consumption.
The fields provide habitat for many species of wildlife, including protected species such as skylarks, badgers, slow worms and bats.
The impact on the countryside will be immense, resulting in industrialisation of this rural area of East Kent. Black glass will replace arable land in this Garden of England.
Hundreds of CCTV cameras will surround the solar 'farm', impacting further on countryside walks.
Roads around the site are already subject to flooding; this will increase due to increase in water 'run off' from the fields.
The Battery Energy Storage System will involve installation of 116, 7 metre shipping containers. These are at risk of fire. In the event of fire, prevailing winds will result in toxic fumes blowing towards the village of Eastry.
The construction traffic will be active for months (maybe more than a year), with HGVs using highly unsuitable narrow country lanes multiple times a day.

Please enter your email address and subscribe to get notified of when the planning application gets submitted to Dover District Council.

Thank you for subscribing!

Prime Agricultural Land at Risk of Solar Power Station: Why We Must Protect It

So how big is this solar 'farm'? Or shall we call it a solar town?

According to PACE Pathfinder's information the proposed solar 'farm' and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will be developed on 122.8 hectare (303.4 acres) of farm land.

So how big is 122.8 hectare (303.4 acres) really? Let me put that in context for you...

Eastry is 59 hectare (145 acres)
Aylesham is 127 hectare (313 acres). Current size including industrial areas.
Sandwich is 154 hectare (380 acres)

Slightly smaller than Aylesham!

This solar 'farm' is a town, not a farm and we do NOT want it here!

An average full-size football pitch is 1.59 acres, thus this whole site could host 173 football pitches. Imagine that, we can host the whole FIFA Football World Cup (104 matches) in a day.

Aylesham is 116 hectare (286 acres), thus the solar farm is BIGGER!

What does this mean for our rural communities?

Loss of agricultural land currently used for food production
Vast battery storage facilities sited around rural and well-used footpaths
Unsightly solar panels visible from local lanes and residential properties
Disruption of local wildlife habitats
Noise pollution from pile driving during construction
Prolonged periods of traffic and noise disruption
Damage to local roads from hundreds of HGV deliveries
Cameras on your daily walk
Devaluation of properties
Potential loss of jobs for local communities

Map of the area between Eastry, Elvington, Nonington and Tilmanstone highlighting the proposed area covering 122.8 hectare (303.4 acres)

The existing solar farm on Home Farm, Knowlton, covers an area of 15.74 hectares (38.9 acres) and produces 11.4MW.

What can you do about this?

Write to Dover District Council or visit the planning portal to raise your objections
Support the fund to fight against solar on farmland. Just giving link coming soon!
Contact your parish councillors - Your Dover District Councillors

Email all councillors at once; click this link cllr-jamie.pout@dover.gov.uk; cllr-maria.mamjan@dover.gov.uk; cllr-charles.woodgate@dover.gov.uk; cllr-nicholas.kenton@dover.gov.uk; cllr-stephen.manion@dover.gov.uk;
Email Jamie Pout at cllr-jamie.pout@dover.gov.uk - Jamie's profile page
Email Shehrazade Maria Mamjan at cllr-maria.mamjan@dover.gov.uk - Maria's profile page
Email Charles Woodgate at cllr-charles.woodgate@dover.gov.uk - Charles's profile page
Email Nicholas Kenton at cllr-nicholas.kenton@dover.gov.uk - Nicholas's profile page
Email Stephen Manion at cllr-stephen.manion@dover.gov.uk - Stephen's profile page

Did you know... there is already a solar farm on the Knowlton Estate?

Knowlton Solar PV Park (England, CT3 1PT - Google Map) is a 11.4MW ground-mounted solar power project. The farm consists of 51072 solar PV panels, which covers a total of 15.74 hectares (38.9 acres). It has been active since 2014.