Stop Lime Down solar campaigners take their protest to the skies

Protesters from Stop Lime Down marched on Sunday against plans for a 2,220-acre solar farm spread across six locations near villages in areas near Malmesbury and Chippenham. 

The protesters - many wearing red - insisted they are not opposed to the idea of solar power, close to Hullavington, Stanton St Quintin, Sherston, and Luckington but are concerned at the "industrial scale" of the solar farms proposed.

Hundreds met to walk part of the Fosse Way - a Roman Road that passes through part of the countryside that would be affected by the solar farms - on Sunday morning. 

The walk was part of 25 national protests against industrial-scale solar farms. 

Residents mourned the potential loss of a "beautiful valley" and called for solar panels to be erected on industrial buildings, homes, and over car parks instead. 

Local farmer Mike Mitchell said: "I am protesting against all this good farmland being wasted on solar panels when it should be used for growing food."

Another resident, Sarah, said: "(Solar) should be going on car parks and warehouses. We have acres of car parking that we could all park under quite happily."

A third, Piers, said: "We're only going to get one chance to stop this. We know that within a few years alternatives will be available that won't trash the landscape."

Island Green Power, which is behind the plans, says the solar scheme will produce enough energy to power 115,000 homes. 

The company is owned by Macquarie Asset Management, which owned Thames Water between 2006 and 2017, during which time the utility firm's debt increased from £3.4 billion to £10.8 billion.  

Recommended reading: 

Solar farm campaigners to stage protest walks across countryside

Ownership of Lime Down solar farm called 'security issue'

Solar farm campaigners to stage protest walks across countryside

Macquarie's involvement has prompted local MP Roz Savage to raise the matter in Parliament and describe the ownership of the planned development as a "security issue". 

On Thursday, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Cotswolds told the House of Commons: "We should look closely at the companies behind Lime Down. 

"The developer, Island Green Power, is now fully owned by Macquarie bank, a global investment firm with a track record that should give us all pause for thought. 

"During its time leading the consortium that ran Thames Water, Macquarie extracted billions in dividends while letting infrastructure crumble and rivers fill with sewage. 

"It is an asset management company. Its job is to make money, and it does it well. It is not a public utilities company. 

"It is not interested in home-grown, community-led energy; it is interested in profit. It is not here to protect the beauty of the British countryside or to invest in long-term sustainability. 

"Its business model is simple: build big, move fast and maximise returns, whatever the cost to people, nature or public trust."

Ms Savage was not able to attend the March on Sunday, due to prior commitments, but joined protesters on Friday evening for a fundraising barbecue. 

She said she was "using every tool in the parliamentary tool kit to further this cause." 

Because the capacity of the proposed development is over 50 megawatts, the project is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

This means permission for the scheme will need to come from Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband rather than Wiltshire Council.

However, the council has voiced its opposition, saying in March this year: "To see that much farmland converted and the essential industrialisation of the countryside provides good grounds for refusal."

Island Green Power said this week it hopes to submit a development application by the end of the year and, if successful, wants to start construction in 2027. 

Macquarie Asset Management say they no longer are an investor with Thames Water, but declined to comment on the solar project.