NEWSLETTER No.2 - Sunday 10th May

CROWHURST SOLAR CAMPAIGN GROUP

Dear Neighbours,

We promised not to spam your Inbox and will aim to primarily stay in touch with any useful and important information. 

And right now we need your help!

Firstly, we need to know how the solar farm location will impact existing views and vistas along footpaths, bridleways, lanes and roads. The visual impact is an important factor when planning for solar farms is considered.

Please can you send us, via email, key vantage points that look over the proposed site.

Points along the footpaths around Merle Common, Caterfield Lane, Pikes Lane, Chellows Lane. Those living in Southlands will look across the site for example, footpaths up on the Tandridge ridge, and from Spring Lane in Oxted, The Ridge in Woldingham, the footpaths around Crowhurst Lane End towards Godstone. Anywhere and everywhere needs to be recorded so if you know anyone who lives further afield who looks over the area please contact them and ask them from where they can see the site. We will be walking the area to record these points on a map.

Secondly, there are various activities we can all do as residents to build evidence about the ecological value of the land and why it is not suitable for a large-scale solar farm development. 

Local observations from residents can highlight wildlife that professional surveyors will miss during the limited survey windows they allow. 

As now is a good time of year to be outside recording wildlife, it would be extremely helpful if everyone can begin informally noting any interesting birds, mammals, amphibians, insects, or plants they observe — particularly along the footpaths that run through or close to the proposed site.

Even casual observations can become valuable evidence of local biodiversity over time, especially if records include dates, approximate locations, photographs, or sound recordings where possible.

Two free apps are especially useful for helping with identification and recording:

• Merlin Bird ID (by Cornell Lab) — excellent for identifying birds by song, photo, or description.

• iNaturalist — useful for recording and identifying plants, insects, mammals, fungi, amphibians, and more.

• Google Lens - on the Google search bar there is a camera icon, this is also good for identifying plants.

Species of particular interest locally — especially protected or priority species — include:

• Great crested newts

• Badgers

• Hedgehogs

• Bats (all UK bat species are protected)

• Slow worms

• Grass snakes

• Dormice

• Water voles

• Otters

• Ancient or notable trees and veteran hedgerows (e.g. St George's Church yew tree)

• Orchids and other uncommon wildflowers

Birds

·  Swifts

·  Barn owls

·  Skylarks

·  House martins

·  Kingfishers

·  Nightingales (depending on habitat)

·  Tawny owls

·  Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers

Signs can also be useful, not just direct sightings — for example:

• Badger setts or paths

• Hedgehog holes in fences

• Owl pellets

• Birdsong recordings

• Frogspawn or ponds with amphibian activity

• Tracks, droppings, feathers, or burrows

If you do see anything notable, please consider keeping a simple note with:

• Date and time

• Location

• Species (or suspected species)

• Photograph or recording if available

The more observations we can gather collectively, the clearer the picture we will have of the biodiversity using these green corridors and footpaths. 

Please keep these observations safe, we don't need them yet, but will be in touch when we do. In the meantime you can share any sightings and recordings with Surrey Wildlife Trust (list of rare species is published on their site) and they can update their database. As they are a statutory consultee this would be really helpful. 

Many thanks for your help, it will be invaluable information going forward.

Kind regards

Crowhurst Solar Campaign Group