Updates
31 March 2022 HDC issues a determination of the EIA Screening Opinion request. ADAS are told that they are not required to complete an environmental impact assessment. Click here for copy of the decision
To make your objection count, we recommend you lodge it as soon as the Planning Application is submitted. That is expected to happen soon and we will inform you when and how to object. Please subscribe to our website for further updates.
29 March 2022 Webinar held at 7pm on 16 March 2022. It lasted approximately 2 hours.
ADAS and Econergy made it difficult for the community to participate in the webinar. They said they sent leaflets to 759 homes but did not include the webinar details on it. When challenged on why the joining details were not included, they said it was difficult to put zoom details on a leaflet. This was not a credible answer. Around 30 local residents managed to join the webinar by contacting ADAS individually to obtain the details.
In summary, the webinar perpetuated the ADAS / Econergy style of saying as little as possible on the detail of their proposals. They talked over a few slides with very little new information. Almost everything we learned resulted from questions posed by the audience. In their answers, we picked up the following:
Location: Chosen on economic grounds. Its close proximity to an Anglian Water sub-station makes it cheap to connect to the grid. Econergy’s profit margins came before other considerations and drove the choice of location.
Site: They were very dismissive of the land saying it was not a constrained site, had limited ecological value, was not in an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty – there is an application pending - and was of low quality.
Biodiversity: They offered no evidence to support their claims on increasing biodiversity. They did not bring a biodiversity expert to the meeting.
Solar Panel Height: They did not provide a definitive height but based on their responses to questions it was clear they would be in the region of 10 feet high. When a question referred to them being 10 feet - they did not dispute it. This information does not appear in any of their leaflets.
Footpaths: They said that they have chosen to retain the paths, in their current location rather than divert them. ADAS admitted it will have a visual impact from the footpaths, but argued that visual amenity is a subjective point and depends on an individual perspective. We read that as them arguing it is a matter of personal taste whether one enjoys looking at solar panels instead of open green fields when walking on footpaths.
Ouse Valley Way: They finally admitted that the site was on the Ouse Valley Way. This is not on their leaflet and is a topic they avoid talking about. Despite saying it was in their EIA screening opinion request, it was not. When questioned, they said they chose to retain its current path. They did not refer to the fact that there is an application pending for the Ouse valley Way to be designated an Area of Outstanding National Beauty.
Floodplains: They stated the land was on flood zones 2 and 3. When challenged on this incorrect statement, they finally acknowledged that 100% of the land is designated as flood zone 3b – functional floodplain, the land most at risk of flooding. This is evidenced by data held by Huntingdonshire District Council and the Environment Agency. This is an inconvenient fact for ADAS and Econergy. We asked whether they were aware of any solar plant in the UK sited on land that is exclusively a zone 3b floodplain. They could not evidence any.
Employment: Post installation they admitted that there would be practically no additional local employment created.
Ownership: Econergy would not confirm that they would own the solar plant for its 40 year life.
Further consultation: There were multiple requests for further meetings and they said they would go away and consider whether there was any justification.
In summary, ADAS / Econergy made it difficult for the community to engage in a public consultation by not attending a face-to-face public meeting and by not making the webinar details freely available. Having made it hard for people to participate, they were vague on their proposals during the webinar. What we did learn came as a result of audience questions.
16 March 2022 ADAS plans to hold a webinar at 7.00pm Details are available directly from ADAS
ADAS have not made this easy. Please find webinar details blow
Meeting ID: 330 036 8614
Passcode: JYVL5v
1 March 2022 ADAS sent out a leaflet to houses in Buckden within 1.2km radius of the proposed site and to all houses in Offord Cluny and Offord D’Arcy
17 February 2022 HDC puts EIA screening opinion request on their website - 22/70002/SCRE
10 & 11 February 2022 spaceforourriver leaftlet drop to all homes in Buckden and the Offords
8 February 2022 HDC validates EIA screening opinion request
8 February 2022 ADAS submits Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening opinion request to Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC)
