Save our Villages from Solar

Eastry • Elvington • Nonington • Tilmanstone

The planning application for a 122.8 hectare (303.4 acres) Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on grade two agricultural land has been deferred pending a site visit to assess the visual impact. A final decision is expected on 15th October 2026.

We are still fighting to save our villages from this massive industrial solar farm as there are serious concerns about the safety risks and the negative visual and environmental impacts of this development.

These include:

• Highway safety concerns: single-track bottlenecks on Venson Farm Lane; unplannable conflicts with farm machinery; and tailbacks and collision hazards on the A256.
• Pollution hazards associated with a battery fire: the aquifer supplying drinking water is at risk of contamination in the event of a fire; there is a severe lack of mains firefighting water meaning toxic fumes would be emitted while the battery 'burns out'; the proposed water collection bund is undersized; and toxic water run off and residues could soak directly into the chalk aquifer, threatening the regional water supply.
• Loss of farmland, negative visual impact and landscape flaws: top-tier arable land will be lost; the topography is sub-optimal with a North/East slope that is impossible to screen with the proposed planting; other local brownfield sites have been ignored; the proximity to the North Downs Way National Landscape has not been considered.

The villages and rural communities that would be immediately affected by this development are Eastry, Elvington, Nonington and Tilmanstone.

• Facebook
• Email

There are a variety of reasons why this site and the proposal are inappropriate:

• The proposal for this development is not in line with the recommendations in the UK Solar Roadmap, published last month.
• The land identified is prime food production land (grade 1-3) producing tonnes of crops every year for human consumption.
• The drinking water aquifer that runs under the site is at risk of contamination in the event of a battery fire.
• The fields provide habitat for many species of wildlife, including protected species such as skylarks, badgers, slow worms and bats.
• The impact on the countryside will be immense, resulting in industrialisation of this rural area of East Kent. Black glass will replace arable land in this Garden of England.
• Hundreds of CCTV cameras will surround the solar 'farm', impacting further on countryside walks.
• Roads around the site are already subject to flooding; this will increase due to increase in water 'run off' from the fields.
• The Battery Energy Storage System will involve installation of 116, 7 metre shipping containers. These are at risk of fire. In the event of fire, prevailing winds will result in toxic fumes blowing towards the village of Eastry.
• The construction traffic will be active for months (maybe more than a year); HGVs using highly unsuitable narrow country lanes with very limited passing points and risk of vehicles backing up onto the A256 dual carriageway.

Subscribe

Please enter your email address and subscribe to get notified of the latest updates.

Prime Agricultural Land at Risk of Solar Power Station: Why We Must Protect It