Members of campaign group Halt have spoken of how they feel “powerless” to fight plans for a huge solar farm and a battery energy storage plant proposed on land south of Selby — and have criticised their local MP for failing to help them.
Plans for the 190MW Helios solar farm to the west of the village of Camblesforth are currently being assessed by the Planning Inspectorate.
If approved, the farm would be one of the largest in the UK, covering 476 hectares.
Earlier this month, a further proposal was unveiled for a 100MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to the south of the village, which is near Drax Power Station.
A number of other solar farms had been proposed for the former Selby district and are currently going through the planning process.
Halt representatives Pam Spreckley and Lesley Marson said the applications were coming “thick and fast” because of the “frenetic race to achieve the ideological and politically driven target of net zero by 2030”.
However, the campaigners told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the companies behind the scheme were not “philanthropists helping to produce affordable energy for our homes”.
They added: “They are introducing a vast industry for a 40-year period at a healthy profit, bringing noise, likely uncontrollable fire hazards, pollution of the land and water beneath and offering no solutions for climate change, given the major carbon output required for their production and ultimate disposal.
“The more we read, the more we learn, the more fearful we are for our safety, health and future.
“Yet we are lone voices in the wilderness, with insufficient, influential support to fully raise the awareness required.
“All we have is our determination and the will to educate and inform local residents who are currently sleepwalking into this future nightmare.”
The campaigners stressed that they were not Nimbys “worried about a spoiled view” or climate change deniers, and said they had “happily co-existed with Drax” for many years.
The group said Selby MP Keir Mather had offered to support villagers in their fight against the Helios scheme before being elected but has since refused to lobby on their behalf.
The residents said that since the election the MP had just told them information they already knew, and his office was no longer replying to their emails.
“We have no MP to speak for us, no council appearing to support us and some residents considering leaving the area while they can,” the campaigners added.
In response to the criticism, a Labour Party spokesperson said Mr Mather had engaged with the Halt group throughout his time as Selby’s MP – and more broadly with residents from the villages affected by solar applications.
“While Keir has always been willing to provide a platform for local peoples’ views, he has always been clear that planning matters sit outside the decision-making remit of MPs, and has always been honest that he can neither prevent nor allow projects to go ahead,” the spokesperson added.
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