In November 2023, Potterne and neighbouring villages were hit by a double whammy of solar farm applications situated only 1,500m apart: the iconic One Tree Hill (above) and the untouched valley of Potterne Park (top of page). Both sites are on productive arable land, crisscrossed by public rights of way. Both sites are located in areas of high visibility and ecological richness, forming a natural extension to Pewsey Vale AONB. Both sites are in areas designated as not for development in the local plan.
In January 2024 Potterne Solar Action Group (PSAG) launched an online petition to Save One Tree Hill and Potterne Park Farm from solar development (see link below). To date this petition has gained over 1,100 signatures. We have engaged MPs, Danny Kruger and Brian Mathew, to make our case both at local and national level. Wiltshire Council have already exceeded by 39% their most ambitious target of 590MW of solar capacity by 2030. Including recently approved solar farm developments, a total of 820MW should be operational in Wiltshire by 2026. We already have six solar farms within a five-mile radius of Potterne. There are a further five potentially in the pipeline in the area east of Potterne along a seven-mile corridor into Pewsey Vale. What’s more this area of the national grid is highly congested, so not ideal strategically from a national infrastructure perspective.
One Tree Hill and Potterne Park solar developments go against National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) guidelines to protect valued landscapes and sites of biodiversity and to recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside. They disregard Wiltshire Core Strategy on the careful stewardship of our environmental assets so that growth does not erode the very qualities that make Wiltshire so attractive in the first place. And they ignore the government’s commitment to food security which relies on strong domestic production.
Potterne Solar Action Group are not against solar. We support solar in the right place, such as on brownfield sites, next to motorways and on rooftops, as advocated by CPRE (see link below), who support our campaign. They have highlighted the lack of an overall plan for the spatial distribution of renewable energy capacity in the county and the combined effect arising from the local concentration of several solar farms, many of which include substations, giving them an industrial appearance totally out of keeping with the local countryside.
PSAG gave its full support to the motion raised by Cllrs Alford & Botterill at the Wiltshire Council meeting in May 2024. The motion called upon the government to ensure solar developments be more evenly spread across the UK, given the fact that Wiltshire has the highest concentration of these industrial developments. The motion also stressed the importance of protecting agricultural land, our communities, and our rural way of life.
Please support our campaign to stop the industrialisation of our historic and valued countryside.