In recent weeks, a large number of people from the Burnhope and Maiden Law area have contacted Richard about the new Solar Farm that is being considered for land between the two villages.
Whilst the proposal is in its early stages, and no application has yet been submitted to Durham County Council, Richard is on the front-foot and is writing to residents throughout Burnhope urging them to get in touch about the project. According to information provided to Richard by the developer, the project would generate 51,716MWh per year, which would be enough energy to take almost 8,000 cars off the road or to power nearly 14,000 homes. However, the proposed site is very large and would cover about 215 acres in the area close to - but not including - Burnhope Pond plantation and up towards Chapman's Well.
Richard said: "Like many of my constituents, I back Solar Power in principle as a green form of energy that will help our efforts to reduce Carbon emissions and contribute to our Government's strong world-leading efforts to tackle global warming. However, some residents have expressed concern about the scope of the application and I encourage residents to share their feedback with me and local Councillors for Lanchester ward - which includes Burnhope and Maiden Law - Mike McGaun and Doug Oliver.
"A particular area of concern is visibility regarding the site, lightsourcebp have said that they will encourage feedback about wilding features and landscaping measures and I encourage people let me know what measures might improve the current proposals - I look forward to hearing from you."