Proposal for 300 acre solar farm Fact sheet for local residents of Clyst Hydon, Plymtree, Payhembury and Talaton: Paytherden Solar Farm, Clyst Hydon EX15

There is a planning application underway to build a We anticipate there will also be an application for 3 solar power plant in Clyst Hydon. acres of fields to be concreted over to enable the lorries to unload the panels. Combined with the Plymtree scheme, it will create 300 acre of solar panels, or 1200 football pitches, or The size and impact of these schemes is immense 200,000 solar panels. and the purpose of this leaflet is to make sure local residents know the full facts about the short and www.paytherden.co.uk long-term impacts on our rural environment.

These are the most commonly raised concerns from local residents so far:

Is this about the environment or money?

LightRock is the agent commissioned to manage community engagement and stands to make £2m from this scheme. Blue Field is the company who will lease the land from the farmers and install the solar. They stand to make £18m from this proposal. Typically the three farmers leasing land to Blue Field will make c.£180,000 a year.

Traffic

During the construction, there will be one fully loaded artic lorry carrying panels travelling EVERY SIX MINUTES from the A30, through Escot and Talaton and turning right up Tale Lane to the site.

We want to know how safe it will be for kids to get to school and how the Highway agency deemed that the roads were suitable to support this level and intensity of heavy traffic (see Tesco lorry – right - for scale)

Impact on the countryside

Between Clyst Hydon and Plymtree there will be 1200 football pitches of panels.

This will materially impact our countryside and converts it from agricultural green fields to industrial blue fields.

The authors of this leaflet are not against solar or renewable energy, nor are we climate change deniers. We just want the impact of this proposal to be properly evaluated and considered against the other neighbouring solar planning applications.

Thin end of the wedge

At 300 acres, this scheme is in the top 10 largest solar power plants in the UK.

East Devon is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The only land in East Devon that can be used for solar is in the Clyst Hydon area. To meet their quota of renewable energy East Devon District Council we think more schemes will follow.

We are asking our councillors to take a proportionate and joined up view to stop the whole of our countryside in blue panels.

Ethical supply chain

We know all panels are made in China and the EU has a strong suspicion that they are manufactured by slave Uighurs. Search: The Guardian + Blue Field to find the most recent article on this.