Sedgemoor has approved an application to build an Industrial Electrical Storage Facility on a farm site near Thurloxton, in the Quantock foothills. The Site will comprise 45-50 shipping container sized Battery units along with security gates and fencing, hard standing, landscaping and a new access road. Friends of Quantock lodged an objection to these plans along with the AONB and CPRE so we are disappointed to see it go ahead.
We all understand the need for renewable energy infrastructure but we can see no reason why an industrial development of this nature should be sited on farmland right next to the Quantocks instead of in Bridgwater or at another established industrial location. It is a needless incursion into a landscape that we already greatly value for its agricultural productivity as well as for its beauty and wildlife.
The site is just outside of the AONB boundary but the Quantocks cannot become an oasis of conservation in an otherwise degraded landscape. The surroundings matter, the views matter, the approach, the hinterland and the context all matter.
[Photo of a lane near Thurloxton © Copyright Derek Harper, licensed for reuse under Creative Commons]