Kronos Drop In meeting 6/12/22

Kronos held a drop in session at the Newbiggin Village Hall on 6th December 2022 to update local people on the changes in their intended planning application for a solar power station.  We think about 16 people attended the drop in session.

What’s changed?

1. They’ve changed the date they plan to submit an application for planning permission from November 2022 to March 2023 although some people were told different dates.

2. Kronos have altered the planned route of the construction/maintenance road.  Previously we had been lead to believe that the construction road would be a two lane, fully tarmacked road capable of supporting large lorries.  Now they tell us the road will not be tarmacked and might be closer to a track.  Access from the Greystoke Road would now be much closer to Moss Rigg and instead of crossing the middle of field, it would follow the edge and run parallel with the Moss Rigg lane.  Local residents are horrified at this suggestion, they expect it would be ugly and very noisy and very close to their homes.

3. Kronos have altered the size of the area given over to the power plant.  The new proposal is that the solar panels would stop 15 meters downhill from the previous proposal.  The total space taken would be reduced by 20% however the power produced would not be reduced. We find this suspicious.  It seems to us possible that Kronos always intended to have a power station of 42 acres but originally proposed a larger one with the plan of reducing it to make us local people feel relieved or “listened to” and therefore somehow grateful that the latest proposal is less awful than the original.

I’m not relieved or grateful. 

You can see their new proposal at Design – Solar Farm near Pallet Hill (pallet-hill-solar-farm.co.uk)

4. They have realised, and publicly recognised, that their original construction traffic route would not be possible. If they were to get approval, there would be a significant amount of construction traffic and it will have to come through Penrith rather than come along Mile Lane.

5. The day before the session in Newbiggin, Kronos suffered a major defeat in Alfreton in Derbyshire.  They had applied to build an enormous solar power plant (185 acres).  The local council refused their application. Kronos then appealed to the Government who also refused their proposal because it would have “too much of an impact on the area’s landscape quality, character and appearance”. Kronos were asked why the Newbiggin valley power plant proposal should succeed when Alfreton’s had failed but they didn’t have a very clear answer.  You can read more at  Government blocks plans for huge Alfreton solar farm after expensive fight - Derbyshire Live (derbytelegraph.co.uk)

6. On their web site, Kronos hinted that they planned to offer money to try to buy off opposition to their proposal.  This money would be spent by the parish council.  They confirmed that this would probably happen if the power plant was built but they said that the amount of money was a secret. The Alfreton area was offered £10,000 per year, index linked, for 20 years.

Stay in touch at www.newbigginvalley.org