The Whitewater Valley Conservation Society recognises the urgent need for renewable energy sources and storage for the UK, and the importance of a drive to a Net Zero carbon world. Our view is that this should be achieved in a way that does not remove the best and most versatile agricultural land from local food production, destroy rural landscapes and impact on the natural environment. We are in full support of small-scale solar projects that already exist in our area – ones that are sensitive to the rural nature of the Whitewater Valley, and do not create major landscape changes.
We understand that the rush to develop industrial scale solar plants in our area is being driven by spare capacity at a nearby substation. There are many sites both in Hampshire and further afield – existing developed ‘brownfield’ sites and land surrounding transport infrastructure such as motorways and railways – that would provide lower impact options for large commercial solar plants.
Five utility scale 50MW solar farm schemes in the vicinity of Hook, Odiham, Greywell, Upton Grey and Long Sutton in Hart District are currently being promoted by different developers. Four of these solar farm proposals are in the Whitewater Valley, which would have an impact on the countryside and landscape of the Valley, the ecological quality of the River Whitewater chalk stream, and its natural amenity value.
The solar farm proposals are as follows (click on the links to read the latest updates on each):
Bunker’s Hill, Rotherwick, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9DA, for which a full planning application was granted in November 2021. Please read the Whitewater Valley Preservation Society’s objection in response to this application.
Chosley Farm, Bidden Road, North Warnborough, Hampshire RG29 1BW, for which a full planning application was granted in November 2021. Please read the Whitewater Valley Preservation Society’s objection in response to this application.
Ford Farm, Long Sutton, Upton Grey, for which an Environmental Impact Assessment will be required.
Holt Farm, Holt Lane, Hook, Hampshire, for which pre-application advice indicated that considerably more information would be required for a full planning application.
Kiln Fields, Heckfield, Hook, which received approval of a full planning application in July 2022.