Homeowners fear solar farm will ‘destroy our green countryside’
Affected properties are outraged that they weren’t notified about plans sooner.
People living in a village near Lockerbie fear plans for a huge solar farm could spoil the area's natural beauty.
Green Energy International (GEI) wants to build the Wyseby Hill Energy Village which could span 9 miles and cover more than 3-thousand acres standing at a height of more than 3 metres.
This is planned to stretch across Eaglesfield to Gretna.
If the proposed plans are approved, then construction could begin in 2028.
Eaglesfield residents say they “found out by accident” through word of mouth and checked the council’s website to confirm what they describe now as a “living nightmare”.
Diagrams show that Suzy Young’s home is bang in the middle of Area 2, meaning her house could potentially become surrounded by solar panels.
She says this has already taken a toll on her mental health:
“It’s just causing sleepless nights, worry, anxiety. It’s just the worst thing they could possibly do but they’re such big companies and there is so much money involved that they just don’t care about us little mortals living on the edge of a solar farm.”
She added that she tried to reach out to the company in the hope she would get some answers but instead, she was told she would have to wait until the first public consultation in October.
‘Ruin the planet to save the planet’
Ryan Mason is also one of the affected properties in the village and he describes the situation as “being stuck in limbo”.
The unknown makes him assume the worst he says.
He has two young children, and he fears their memories of living in the countryside will be tainted:
“They’re four and six years old so potentially the next ten years of their life – the years that you do remember from when you’re a child – if this does go ahead, all they’re going to remember from being at home is massive infrastructure just being constantly put into the fields and taking away the countryside.”
He also doesn’t believe the single, narrow country lanes will be suitable for the workers arriving in big lorries and trailers and this could cause problems or accidents for other road users.
Mason thinks that there are more suitable places to locate the solar panels rather than obstruct their view and take away green space.
“We’ve got windmills all around the area and hills on brown land. I mean, why can’t they go up there? I just think it is green energy destroying the green countryside, to be honest.”
Young chirped in: “Why do they have to be next to residential properties?
“We’re not against green energy, we’re actually for green energy but it’s the sheer scale of it and it’s that that you can’t get your head round. 3250 acres is just mind-blowing, and it will have a detrimental effect.”
‘A blot on the landscape’
Green Energy International says: “We are now entering a 15-month consultation period as outlined in our Proposal of Application Notice (PoAN), submitted to Dumfries and Galloway Council.
"GEI is committed to ensuring that the community is kept fully informed throughout this process. We welcome the opportunity for open dialogue and collaboration with local stakeholders to ensure that the project is developed in a way that benefits both the environment and the community."
“As we remain in the pre-planning stage, the project will not go fully "live" until the end of September, when we initiate the first phase of public engagement.
“The consultation will include four phases of community events, with the first scheduled for October, and letters being sent to close neighbours on 20th September. The project website will also be live by this date.”
Until then, a petition has been created as proof of how many people are against the plans and calling it a solar farm.
Work is underway to create a Facebook group for anyone to share or gain information or even just to have their say.
Suzy Young warns others: “This may not be local to you but if we don't stop it now, it quite possibly could be as it will open the floodgates for them to just build these industrial solar villages everywhere.”
GEI adds: “All properties will have a minimum offset buffer of at least 65 metres (the width of a Premier League football pitch) from the boundary of their property to the first section of deer fencing/security fencing.
“Beyond that, there is a further 5 to 7 metres before the solar arrays, which stand at a height of approximately 3.2 metres – roughly the height of a basketball hoop’s backboard.”