After the Cardiff and Newport City Councils approve the final plan for a solar energy plant on a patch of farmland, the villagers decide to take legal path to challenge the approval.
Residents of a village outside Cardiff will continue to challenge the proposal for a solar energy farm even after the City Councils approved the plan in November.
The villagers of Michaelston-Y-Fedw, a hamlet at the border of Cardiff and Newport, raised their objection to the construction of over 18000 solar panels on an agricultural land in the village when the proposal was first floated.
“We are mainly concerned about the change of the prime agricultural land, its impact on bio-diversity and most importantly the concerns about flood in the area,” says Nigel Hallet, the chairman of the Keep Us Rural, the campaign group leading the villagers’ fight.
Despite the opposition of the villagers, both the Newport and the Cardiff City Councils gave the go-ahead’ to the project with certain restrictions. The plant is to be decommissioned after 25 years. Villagers are not happy with it and preparing to approach the legal forum against the decision.
The renewable energy trade body has raised concern over the delayed approval to the energy projects. “Due to the complex planning policy, it takes time to get permission for renewable energy projects in Wales,” says David Clubb, Director, Cymru, Renewable UK.