Public ‘warming’ to Great North Road Solar Park as consultation ends
A “SIGNIFICANT” percentage of residents are open to the Great North Road Solar Park, the site’s developer has claimed.
The proposed site could see one of Europe’s largest solar parks created near Newark, producing enough clean and affordable energy to power 400,000 homes.
The consultation ended on Tuesday February 27 and the site’s developer Elements Green confirmed that almost half of participants either supported the project or were open to the project if changes were made to the current plans.
Mark Noone, Project Director, said he has been impressed with the “open minded view” of the plans from across the community, and has vowed to act quickly on feedback from residents.
“Having consulted widely with the public we are buoyed by the responses at this stage. There are a number of respondents who would wish to see changes to the project in order to support it and we intend to make those amendments in the coming weeks,” said Mark.
A £40 million package of funding has been ringfenced via the associated NG+ scheme for local projects. The site would not only lead to new jobs but the developers have assured residents that the GNR site would reduce the often devastating impact of flooding.
According to Mark, the issue of flooding was a “key concern” flagged by residents during the six week long consultation.
“We are committed to planting 50,000 trees to help slow the transfer of water to the river network.
Additionally, the land use would be transformed from arable, which floods more easily, into grassland which also helps slow down surface water run-off.”
And with flooding measures seemingly at the top of the public’s wish list for the site, the firm say the public’s concerns will be “very much at the heart” of their final proposals.
“The proposals we are consulting on will include measures taken within the project site that would be funded as part of the build costs. In addition, we envisage support for new or existing schemes outside of the project boundary through our NG+ community benefit trust. NG+ provides £40 million over 40 years. This could be transformative for the area and make a meaningful impact to the people of the district.”
“Without significant investment in flood mitigation we cannot hope to deal effectively with related issues such as widespread potholes.
“A local resident told us she had lost three car tyres and an exhaust in the past year, due to the state of the roads. This cannot be tolerable. Once the flooding matters are alleviated then improvements to the road network can be more long-lasting and impactful.”
Over 5,000 properties were consulted as part of the comprehensive consultation.
“Heading into the close of the consultation, 45 per cent of respondents have told us they either support the plans in their current form, or could support them in an amended form. For a project of this size and scope, that’s incredibly positive and shows that the public are warming to the Great North Road Solar Park,” added Mark.
“As a nation, we need greener energy and we need energy independence. The Great North Road Solar Park could play a key role in helping the UK on both fronts.”
“And after engaging with residents, they have realised the role it could play, whilst they are also seeing the wider economic, social and environmental benefits GNR Solar Park could bring. We are incredibly grateful to the public for their invaluable feedback that will help make these plans better for everyone.”
For more information on Great North Road Solar Park please visit: www.GNRsolarpark.co.uk