Plans for a 25-hectare solar park were submitted for a corner of Green Belt land near the M25 and the A10. The application was subsequently withdrawn.
I was wondering, in the case of the same plans being resubmitted in the future, whether anyone else had also thought of creating a wildflower meadow underneath solar panels. This would create an area of far greater biodiversity than a grass field, which is what large areas of the Green Belt are.
Many wild flower species are capable of supporting a large variety of invertebrate life. Many species of wild flowers are also becoming rarer as the nitrogen content of soils is increasing due to the use of artificial fertilizers and air pollution from traffic.
A certain amount of the topsoil would, in any case, need to be removed, however, as poor soil is what most species of wild flowers require, this may increase costs.
However, this could be the solution to conflicting interests as far as usage of the Green Belt is concerned.
Phil Fletcher
Candidate for the Green Party in Chipping Barnet Ward in the 2014 Local Elections
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