Environmental Impact assessment requested for plans to build 'vast' solar farm near Chichester

If approved, the plans would see solar arrays and associated infrastructure built on a near-100 acre site south in South Mundham, near Runcton Lane. A lot of the site has been classified as best and most diverse agricultural land which, if plans go ahead, will not be used for farming for at least forty years, while permissions hold.

Developers at BNRG Langmead say the completed solar farm has the potential to produce 25,500,000 kWh of electricity per year, enough to fuel, enough to fuel 9,062 dwellings, and much of which can be used to power the nearby Chichester Food Park, where it could significantly increase food production.

This request for an environmental impact assessment comes before a formal submission of the plans themselves to Chichester District Council, and some local groups have already come forward to question the proposal.

Writing in response to the application for an assessment, North Mundham Parish Council pushed for a truly comprehensive, and emphatically independent, environmental review, claiming that some of the pre-liminary information submitted as part of the request was inaccurate and incomplete.

"The submitted information inadequately addresses the environmental context, particularly the absence of any mention of the wildlife corridor,” their letter says. “An independent EIA is considered to be crucial to ensure a thorough evaluation of the likely impact of a full planning application.”

Residents have expressed similar concerns about the scope and impact of the plans themselves. Speaking to Sussex World last week, resident Mark Linzey said he and many other residents believe the potential benefits of a solar farm do not outweigh the loss of high-quality agricultural land. He made clear that, although many residents are in favour of renewable energy sources, they do not feel the Mundham site is the appropriate place for a project like this:"We’re all supportive of renewable energy, but there’s a right place for them and a wrong place for them,” he said. “It’s roof tops, brownfield sites – The Rampion windfarm is enough to power a million homes with 80 turbines – but not across the countryside here, it’s just not right for that to happen.”