Cople Parish Council response to Quintas Cleantech Consultation April 2025
Cople Parish Council has carefully considered the materials available and resolved unanimously to strongly object to the proposal. Please see comments and objections below:
1. The consultation process appears to have been rushed and confused. Very little notice was given of the in-person event, leaving minimal time available for discussion in a parish forum. The information given at the in-person event led to confusion as individuals received different answers, from the representatives available, to the same queries.
2. A large part of the proposed site is in an adjoining parish. It is noted that Willington parish does not appear to have had the same opportunities for liaison and delivery of information with respect to this consultation.
3. The scale and location of the of the development will have a detrimental impact on the parish. As the solar panels would be installed on the face of a slope, they would be visible from dwellings, the surrounding countryside and the highways network. The proposal would fundamentally change a local landscape of scenic value and the settlement character of the area for much the worse.
4. The National Planning Policy Framework contains the statement that “Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. The availability of agricultural land used for food production should be considered” This highest quality agricultural land is not appropriate for solar development and a justification of the need to use this high-quality land has not been demonstrated.
5. Numerous rights of way would be impacted by the proposal. Buffers and screening would be required, which would further alter the nature of the footpaths and bridleways through the proposed site, they would be radically different and far less attractive to that experienced currently. In addition, the proposed location of the battery storage adjacent to a bridleway would put bridleways users at risk due to its size and noise disturbance.
6. It is understood that hedgerows would be removed, and wildlife corridors would be put in for small mammals, but these would not support other wildlife such as deer. An Environmental Impact Assessment is required to allow a clear understanding of the proposed measures that would be put in place and if these would be adequate for the diverse wildlife on the proposed site.
7. The proposed access to the site for the construction traffic would be at the brow of a hill where there is a sharp bend, The Parish Council is very concerned about this proposed access point due to the risk of accidents at this location and the impact on other road users including horse riders, cyclists and walkers. In addition, there are already issues with traffic movement within the parish due to parked vehicles and this would be further exacerbated by site traffic accessing the local roads 6 days a week.
8. The Parish Council would like to understand if there has been any site option analysis conducted and if this can be made available.
9. The Parish Council is concerned about fire risk and the security at the site. A full fire risk assessment would be required. In the event of a fire what measures would be put in place to protect residents, the soil and the ground water. What security measures would be put in place on the site, would the entire site be fenced, would it be lit, would there be CCTV
In conclusion, the Parish Council strongly opposes the proposal as set out by Quintas Cleantech.