Support green energy!!!
Please sign this petition to support the installation of solar panels on the roof of 37a St John Street, Wirksworth (a grade 2 listed building next to the Memorial Gardens) – the council have recommended our planning application is refused because they would be visible from the street in the conservation area. We have chosen very sophisticated solar panels that are not the standard panels you usually see - they are the most visually unobtrusive possible with the latest technology for both high efficiency and slick appearance. The sustainability benefits of renewable energy surely outweigh the minimal visual impact of these in light of the climate emergency! Read on to find out more if needed.
MORE INFO:
37a St John Street is a listed building that we are renovating to bring it back to life after years of neglect. Historic England recommendations for solar panels on historic buildings have been taken into consideration in our plans - we have selected efficient and slick panels with a black, anti-reflective finish, mounted on low, black coloured brackets to be as visually unobtrusive as possible. They will be centred and butted together to create a seamless, symmetrical, unified block, and cabling will not be visible.
The solar panels would work in combination with a ground source heat pump to make the building carbon neutral, using solely renewable energy sources, supported by other energy efficiency measures: e.g. installation of wall and roof insulation throughout, double glazing/ secondary glazing, draught proofing, underfloor heating.
The aim is to create a sustainable, warm and comfortable home that strikes a balance between “saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, sustaining heritage significance, and maintaining a healthy building” (Historic England: Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: Solar Electrics (photovoltaics), 2018).
The solar panels will be visible from the Memorial Gardens / main street, so the council have recommended this application is refused because they deem solar panels to look ‘alien’ in the Wirksworth conservation area. They also don’t see the sustainability benefit of one home moving to renewables to be significant enough.
The council’s own conservation report, however, states that the solar panels in our proposal would not cause substantial visual ‘harm’ to the building and setting, and the local Derbyshire Dales policies all claim they will address the challenges of climate change, which is of high importance given that the area has high levels of per capita carbon emissions and is situated in an area of natural beauty, which the local policy plan outlines the need to protect and enhance for social, physical and economic reasons. Strategic objectives to support this include facilitating low carbon development and energy generation from renewable sources through retro-fitting or refurbishment of existing buildings (Adopted Derbyshire Dales Local Plan, p28).
The UK is missing nearly all its renewable energy targets - 75% of our electricity must come from clean energy sources by 2030 if we are to meet legally binding commitments to zero emissions by 2050, but we are long way off. 19 million homes need to be decarbonized in order to meet these targets.
The measures proposed in our application aim to support these targets and create a sustainable, energy efficient home.
There are other examples of solar panels being approved on listed / heritage buildings in Derbyshire Dales and beyond, and if approved, this could be a landmark case for Wirksworth, showing how progressive and sustainable the council can be.
Please sign our petition to support our solar panels application!!
PLEASE NOTE: your name and address will be visible on this petition and published online, but personal contact information (email address) will be removed.
FULL DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL CAN BE FOUND HERE:
https://planning.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/online-app... - click on ‘view associated documents’ and see in particular the ‘Heritage Statement’ for our full proposal, design, and rationale, the ‘Additional Information’ file for details of the solar panels, and ‘Officers Report- Committee’ to see the council’s report.
This petition has been organised by: Angharad McLaren, 37a St John Street, Wirksworth, DE4 4DS. Email: [email protected]
30 Comments
I’ve got 42 panels on my 18thC malt house on North End clearly visible from the street. I was told by DDDC Planning Dept this was acceptable so why not on St John St? The DDDC need to rest their thinking - we’re in a climate emergency for heaven’s sake! When people want to do the right thing by the planet and the greater community they should be lauded and applauded.
As a community we should be embracing renewables throughout our town, including allowing our older buildings to change and adapt to modern living. I do not believe the solar panels will significantly detract from the appearance of the conservation area and I fully support the proposal.
Sustainable energy should be a priority when we are in such a climate crisis. If done sympathetically, solar panels would not have a detrimental impact on the character or historical integrity of the town any more than shop signage or wheelie bins do. You have already approved solar panels in the conservation area (North End) so it feels unfair to challenge this. Please send the right message about the importance of sustainable energy and approve this application
It's time to look forwards. There's merit to ensure listed buildings are preserved, as close as possible to their original status, but surely not at the expense of the environment? Provided the panels suggested are descrete and effective the council really should have a more progressive outlook. There will be no listed housing if we destroy our environment after all.
As local residents and neighbours (we live across the road with a direct view of the property). We think that the local community would really benefit from more sustainable housing. Renewable energy has to be the future for all properties and we should be encouraging it wherever we can. We think that even being able to see renewable forms of energy shouldn’t be an issue! It certainly isn’t for us who can see the properties roof and garden from our windows.
A good thing for the future of the planet.1
This is an important initiative for the future of the town which should be fully supported
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Support green energy!!!
Please sign this petition to support the installation of solar panels on the roof of 37a St John Street, Wirksworth (a grade 2 listed building next to the Memorial Gardens) – the council have recommended our planning application is refused because they would be visible from the street in the conservation area. We have chosen very sophisticated solar panels that are not the standard panels you usually see - they are the most visually unobtrusive possible with the latest technology for both high efficiency and slick appearance. The sustainability benefits of renewable energy surely outweigh the minimal visual impact of these in light of the climate emergency! Read on to find out more if needed.
MORE INFO:
37a St John Street is a listed building that we are renovating to bring it back to life after years of neglect. Historic England recommendations for solar panels on historic buildings have been taken into consideration in our plans - we have selected efficient and slick panels with a black, anti-reflective finish, mounted on low, black coloured brackets to be as visually unobtrusive as possible. They will be centred and butted together to create a seamless, symmetrical, unified block, and cabling will not be visible.
The solar panels would work in combination with a ground source heat pump to make the building carbon neutral, using solely renewable energy sources, supported by other energy efficiency measures: e.g. installation of wall and roof insulation throughout, double glazing/ secondary glazing, draught proofing, underfloor heating.
The aim is to create a sustainable, warm and comfortable home that strikes a balance between “saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, sustaining heritage significance, and maintaining a healthy building” (Historic England: Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: Solar Electrics (photovoltaics), 2018).
The solar panels will be visible from the Memorial Gardens / main street, so the council have recommended this application is refused because they deem solar panels to look ‘alien’ in the Wirksworth conservation area. They also don’t see the sustainability benefit of one home moving to renewables to be significant enough.
The council’s own conservation report, however, states that the solar panels in our proposal would not cause substantial visual ‘harm’ to the building and setting, and the local Derbyshire Dales policies all claim they will address the challenges of climate change, which is of high importance given that the area has high levels of per capita carbon emissions and is situated in an area of natural beauty, which the local policy plan outlines the need to protect and enhance for social, physical and economic reasons. Strategic objectives to support this include facilitating low carbon development and energy generation from renewable sources through retro-fitting or refurbishment of existing buildings (Adopted Derbyshire Dales Local Plan, p28).
The UK is missing nearly all its renewable energy targets - 75% of our electricity must come from clean energy sources by 2030 if we are to meet legally binding commitments to zero emissions by 2050, but we are long way off. 19 million homes need to be decarbonized in order to meet these targets.
The measures proposed in our application aim to support these targets and create a sustainable, energy efficient home.
There are other examples of solar panels being approved on listed / heritage buildings in Derbyshire Dales and beyond, and if approved, this could be a landmark case for Wirksworth, showing how progressive and sustainable the council can be.
Please sign our petition to support our solar panels application!!
PLEASE NOTE: your name and address will be visible on this petition and published online, but personal contact information (email address) will be removed.
FULL DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL CAN BE FOUND HERE:
https://planning.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/online-app... - click on ‘view associated documents’ and see in particular the ‘Heritage Statement’ for our full proposal, design, and rationale, the ‘Additional Information’ file for details of the solar panels, and ‘Officers Report- Committee’ to see the council’s report.
This petition has been organised by: Angharad McLaren, 37a St John Street, Wirksworth, DE4 4DS. Email: [email protected]
30 Comments
We must as a society move into renewable energy and this project will both help to do that and maintain and further Wirksworth’s recent historical identity as a town that both conserves its heritage and invests in a sustainable future - this is the contemporary equivalent of the kind of architectural work that won Wirksworth the European prize in the 1970s-80s It should go ahead.
I’ve got 42 panels on my 18thC malt house on North End clearly visible from the street. I was told by DDDC Planning Dept this was acceptable so why not on St John St? The DDDC need to rest their thinking - we’re in a climate emergency for heaven’s sake! When people want to do the right thing by the planet and the greater community they should be lauded and applauded.
As a community we should be embracing renewables throughout our town, including allowing our older buildings to change and adapt to modern living. I do not believe the solar panels will significantly detract from the appearance of the conservation area and I fully support the proposal.
Sustainable energy should be a priority when we are in such a climate crisis. If done sympathetically, solar panels would not have a detrimental impact on the character or historical integrity of the town any more than shop signage or wheelie bins do. You have already approved solar panels in the conservation area (North End) so it feels unfair to challenge this. Please send the right message about the importance of sustainable energy and approve this application
It's time to look forwards. There's merit to ensure listed buildings are preserved, as close as possible to their original status, but surely not at the expense of the environment? Provided the panels suggested are descrete and effective the council really should have a more progressive outlook. There will be no listed housing if we destroy our environment after all.
As local residents and neighbours (we live across the road with a direct view of the property). We think that the local community would really benefit from more sustainable housing. Renewable energy has to be the future for all properties and we should be encouraging it wherever we can. We think that even being able to see renewable forms of energy shouldn’t be an issue! It certainly isn’t for us who can see the properties roof and garden from our windows.
A good thing for the future of the planet.1
This is an important initiative for the future of the town which should be fully supported
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We must as a society move into renewable energy and this project will both help to do that and maintain and further Wirksworth’s recent historical identity as a town that both conserves its heritage and invests in a sustainable future - this is the contemporary equivalent of the kind of architectural work that won Wirksworth the European prize in the 1970s-80s It should go ahead.