The 165 acres size of the site is the equivalent size of approaching 100 football pitches and will contain approaching 200,000 solar panels (2m x 1m approx)

The site is in the heart of the catchment of the Beck, with two streams and a laneside ditch leading from the site edge to the start of the Beck 

 The huge size of the site and the area of glass onto which rain and storms will fall -

• The site is the size of about 100 football pitches
• It is entirely within the catchment area of Bishop Monkton Beck (which floods quite regularly)
• The perimeter of the site is over 2 miles
• It has 3 drainage ‘routes’ down to the Beck which form the basis of the beck, two of those ‘routes’, ie streams, start from within the downslope of the site. The other ‘route’ is a deep laneside ditch, starting just to the NE side of the site boundary.
• Each industrial solar panel has dimensions 2.2m x 1.13m
• A solar unit comprises 3 panels, so its sloping length is nearly 7m and width just over 1m
• These units are all set so that the panels lie at an angle of 15° (so 7m of sloping glass surface)
• Water, even in just normal rain let alone storms, will not just drip off the bottom panel but will stream off.
• Below each bottom end is a line of gravel mini trenches, 3cm wide, depth up to 2cm, one for each row of panels.
• The total length of all of these rows across the entire site will be approaching 50 miles.
• This total length will involve about 75,000 solar units
• This will require around 200,000 solar panels.
• That is quite some non-permeable inclined area (about ½ million square metres)

A recent change has been the removal of Swales (trenches) around the downward edges proposed to hold/control the flow of surface water running off and provide additional security regarding flooding.   The LLFA felt that these would alter the normal flow of drainage.  That might well be the case but the nature of the increased volume of water to be dispersed, from the huge dense solar panel coverage, which will mainly flow out rather than seep out, so over a shorter time period, will be such that the normal flow of drainage (without seepage ‘buffering’) will be overtaken by much faster surface flowing.  This will be to the two feeder streams and laneside ditch which form the basis of the Beck.  I expand on this below. There does appear to be a small level of uncertainty in the minds of the LLFA concerning the impact on soil conditions, in that there is an imposition (?) that there is no deterioration in the first 5 years (of 40 years, its projected life).  What is not clear is the frequency of checking, who will be responsible, who the report will be issued to and who will be monitoring that it’s completed.  Without these then it’s a worthless ‘imposition’.

The second picture shows the various gradients within the site and thus the flows of surface water.  All of the panels units face south so all of the mini gravel trenches, collecting the surface water, will be west to east. The over-riding fall of the site is approximately south west to north east, not that different to the direction and fall of the mini gravel trenches.  Consequently surface water gathering and running in these trenches will gain momentum and, in heavy rain, flow along their lengths.  The picture indicates the gradients, showing these all funnel towards 3 points – the start of the two streams and the laneside ditch that flow down to the Beck.  Those who have been in Mains Lane during and shortly after very heavy rain are aware of how the water runs in torrents down these two streams and ditch, often flowing over onto the lane itself which becomes awash with running water.  All running down to the source of the Beck and very swiftly contributing to flooding in the village.

There are 3 locations on the site where storage buildings will be built and the LLFA has now specified the introduction of Attenuation Tanks & Basins with gravel surrounds to control faster flow off these buildings.  They have also re-affirmed the need for permeability in the many tracks within the site and the lengthy track leading to the site from the A61.

It should be noted that some items highlighted in the earlier LLFA report (6th March 2024) that do not appear to have been responded to.  The LLFA expressed concern and required more information about a Construction Plan and further wider details regarding Maintenance. The former will cover a lengthy time period (estimated by the Developer to be up to 2 years) and during that time there is nothing to say what will be in place to ensure water flowing off the site will be controlled in any way. The latter, Maintenance, should cover the grassed and wild flower areas which we all know look good for a couple of years and then revert to a weed and thistle paradise, resulting in much localised weed spreading.  The small plot by the fairly recent Kebbell Harvest View development is a good example, with thistle seeds being blown across the village hall playing fields and neighbouring gardens – they are more than an expensive pest.  There also, importantly, is maintenance of the miles of gravel ‘water drip’ mini trenches which surely will swiftly weed and silt up.

The Beck flooding is not caused by seepage from its catchment area but by water flowing over the surface (and down the streams, ditch and lane).  Any increase in this volume and speed of surface water leaving the site area can only make the flooding swifter and greater (even though it might abate more swiftly).  Surely some extra buffering (equivalent to attenuation tanks/basins) should be in place to provide more security for the village, particularly with what is already being experience with increasing climate change.  What is now being proposed is the exact opposite of that.

An additional aspect that should be considered is the volume of materials that will have to be transported onto the site. 200,000 panels are a huge and heavy load but they form just a small part – there’s of all of the Framework, Fencing, the Security Lighting System, Materials for 5 Buildings, Materials for the 3 SUDS Tanks and Basins,  the enormous quantities of Gravel, all of the Materials for construction of the new Entrance Track (from the A61) and the various Internal Tracks.  All by heavy goods vehicles, using a dangerously located new entrance/exit on the A61 by the Wormald Green corner/junction and for a period of 2 years. These huge heavy lorries will move and cross very slowly compared with normal traffic movements at the road junction.

 

 

 

 

 

North Yorkshire Council

Community Development Services

Strategic Planning Committee

10 DECEMBER 2024

ZC23/04361/EIAMAJ - ERECTION OF GROUND MOUNTED SOLAR FARM (UP TO 43MW) AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING ACCESS TO THE A61, INTERNAL ACCESS TRACKS, CUSTOMER SUBSTATION, DNO BUILDING, STORAGE CONTAINER, 2NO. POWER STATIONS, POLE MOUNTED CCTV, FENCING AND LANDSCAPING

AT LAND EAST OF WORMALD GREEN, WORMALD GREEN, NORTH YORKSHIRE

ON BEHALF OF HARMONY WG SOLAR LIMITED

 Report of the Assistant Director Planning – Community Development Services

Please click on the .pdf file to view the full report and recommendation proposal by NYC (Harrogate)